<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I am in the process of narrowing down the list of graduate schools in which I will be applying to and one of the deciding factors will be based on the abundance of assistantships, whether it is an RA (research assistant) position or TA (teaching assistant) position.</p>
<p>I am not looking to apply to grad school until Fall 2013; however, I wanted to get a head start with exploring financial options. Option A would be taking advantage of my company's tuition reimbursement program- but they only cover 75%. It may sound like a lot, but tuition is often $100K+, so I would still have to finance $25K. Option B, which is the reason for this post, would be hopefully landing a graduate assistantship. My last semester in college, I held the position of Undergraduate Teaching Assistant where I assisted an Organizational Behavior professor. It was a great experience, as I was not just a paper grader. I majored in marketing and would LOVE to assist professors with research on consumer behavior, or advertising trends (I currently work in account management at an advertising agency).</p>
<p>Bottom Line: Does anyone know of any grad schools that offer 100% tuition remission while the student works full time as an RA or TA? I'm trying to get my list together now of schools to apply to. I recently moved to the NYC area, and will be applying to schools in the Northeast region, mostly. </p>
<p>Also, if you are/were working as a graduate RA or TA, I'd love to hear any advice you may have about applying for the positions, the duties assigned, what the stipulations are (such as must receive B or better), etc.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>RA and TA positions in graduate school are generally not something you apply for. They are awarded by the department you’ve applied to as a merit incentive to encourage highly qualified/highly desirable applicants to enroll in their program. </p>
<p>All funded positions (TA or RA) will include a tuition remission as well a living expenses stipend.</p>
<p>Eons ago when I was TAing, you had to maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA plus receive satisfactory evaluations from the departmental teaching supervisor.</p>
<p>My son had a grad assistantship that provided him a nice amount of money, but it did not give him a tuition remission or living stipend. YMMV depending on the schools and course of study.</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies!</p>
<p>WayOutWestMom- Several schools do require you to apply for them. Fordham, for instance, requires their students complete a graduate assistant application. The applications are then made available to faculty who choose the students they wish to interview. UMD College Park also requires applicants to apply to the positions, but they offer a stipend, tuition remission, and benefits- “part of the University’s commitment to the success of our graduate students”. </p>
<p>I forgot where I read it, but I also saw that some schools even encourage applicants to include their interest in a RA or TA position when applying to the graduate program itself. </p>
<p>But I also hear what you’re saying, about the program being merit-based, as not everyone who applies will be accepted- it will be at the discretion of the professors. I’m sure it’s very competitive, as there are several candidates in my shoes that are looking to lower their amount of debt. Wow, maintaining a 3.5 GPA in grad school, while working in an assistantship?? That is intense. Thank you for sharing, as that was not a stipulation I was aware of. Good to know.</p>
<p>Thumper 1- Hmm… that’s good to know that he was well-paid at least. In order for me to go with Option B, I would definitely need to have the majority of tuition reimbursed or reduced. I’ll keep looking and see what I find. </p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>I’m most familiar with funding in STEM fields (DH, both DDs and their BFs) and humanities (my field), not social sciences or business.</p>
<p>Graduate schools hold students to higher standards/expectations than undergrad. Grad students can be dismissed from the program if they fall below a minimum GPA–typically below a 3.0. In many programs, a B is considered the minimum ‘passing’ grade.</p>
<p>*RA and TA positions in graduate school are generally not something you apply for. They are awarded by the department you’ve applied to as a merit incentive to encourage highly qualified/highly desirable applicants to enroll in their program. *</p>
<p>This is not universally true, especially at the master’s level, even in STEM fields. Many times students have to compete for TA and RA positions after admission. For example, in my department, both master’s and doctoral students compete with each other for TA positions. PhD students get preference for research positions though. I know for STEM PhDs they are pretty much automatic, but that’s necessarily true at the master’s level.</p>
<p>To answer your second question: for PhD programs this is pretty much the across the board case. You get tuition remission and a stipend in exchange for some combination of teaching and research. In master’s programs, it’s going to vary. Most of the time, the remission will not be 100%.</p>
<p>Even at top schools the tuition will probably be around $40-50K per year.</p>