Stipend Rates

Stipend rates for Graduate Assistants are set annually by the university. Current stipend rates for Graduate Assistants can be found in the three sections that follow this one, Teaching Assistant Stipend Rates, Research Assistant Stipend Rates and Project Assistant Stipend Rates.

Rate changes based on the student’s status are effective at the beginning of a semester. The student must meet the qualifications for the new rate by the first contractual date of the semester.

The stipend rates of Teaching Assistants vary depending on their pay scale classification. The three classifications are:

Non-doctoral: A student in a master’s program, or a graduate non-degree student, or a doctoral student who does not hold a master’s degree and who has completed fewer than 24 credits of graduate work toward the degree.

Doctoral: A student in a doctoral program who holds a master’s degree. If the doctoral program does not require a master’s degree, a student must complete at least 24 graduate credits in the program to advance to the doctoral pay classification.

Dissertator: A graduate student in a PhD program who has achieved dissertator status.

Teaching Assistants who attain Dissertator status between the contractual date as defined by the published academic year calendar and the Registrar’s add deadline will be paid the dissertator rate starting with the first payroll period after the add deadline.

Consistent with other promotional guidelines at UWM, stipends for a summer-session appointment are based on the stipend schedule approved for the preceding year, unless the appointment is an annual basis appointment effective July 1.

Research Assistant rates are determined by the Office of Research and are established at fixed tiers. All Research Assistants in a given program must be paid the same rate, even if paid by different Principal Investigators from different external grants. See Research Assistant Stipend Rates for a list of current Research Assistant stipend tiers by program.

Graduate Assistants are eligible for periodic cost of living increases. Research Assistant stipends currently increase at an annual rate of 2 percent each summer. Teaching and Project Assistant stipend increases are aligned with UW System pay plans for other employees. Although these increases are not strictly part of the actual pay plan, they go into effect at the same time and at the same rate as pay plan increases.

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