Assistantships

The Department of English offers a number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships (TAs) each year. Assistantships include salary, health insurance, and full tuition remission.

TAships are available for up to two years at the master’s level and up to five years at the doctoral level. The number of years of assistance the student might receive is counted from the date of enrollment in the program, not from the date that the TAship was awarded. Renewals are conditioned upon academic and teaching performance. To review the complete set of rules regarding Teaching Assistantship renewals, please see the department’s Graduate Student Handbook.

Assistantships are for the full academic year only. New students can apply for a TAship by completing the Financial Aid and Teaching Assistantships questionnaire in the Panthera graduate admission application.

Teaching assistantships in coursework are required to take a minimum of two courses per semester for a total of six credits. New TAs are typically required to take English 700, Teaching Writing Practicum, a 1 credit course, in their first semester, as well. Most first-year TAs have a 2-1 teaching load; that is, new TAs teach two classes in the fall semester and one in the spring semester. In the following years, all TAs teach 2-2. Most TAs begin teaching first-year writing and continue to teach various writing courses throughout their assistantships. In later years they also have the opportunity to teach courses in literary studies, creative writing, film studies, media studies, women’s studies, business or professional writing, and occasionally courses for other departments or programs.

More information on benefits.