Assistantships & Remissions

Graduate Assistantships

Assistantships may only be awarded if you are enrolled full-time (9 s.h.) in campus-based courses within the Department of English as a graduate student. Assistantship eligibility does not extend if you have been admitted by exception, or are a non-degree seeking or distance education student.

A full-time graduate assistantship (20 hours per week, Fall and Spring semesters) is worth a minimum of $9,000. As a graduate assistant, you should not work more than twenty hours per week during the academic year. You are also limited to twenty-five hours per week in the fall and spring semesters in any combination of appointments: GA/GRA/GTA, self-help, College Work-Study, or EPA/SPA. Foreign students are limited to twenty hours per week (federal requirement).

Assistantship funds are allocated based on the English Department’s established rate. MA students are responsible for fees and tuition. You are invited to apply for these assistantships once you have been admitted to the program. Some out-of-state students will be eligible to receive in-state tuition.

Employees at other state agencies may not hold a graduate assistantship. (Employees of the North Carolina Community College System are exempt from this restriction.)

Full-time campus-based students benefit from assistantships that include working in the writing studio/center as consultants, teaching writing foundations courses, and serving as editorial/writing assistants on scholarly projects and department journals or community engagement projects.

You are ineligible for an assistantships if you are not registered by census day. Census day is defined as the day that enrollment is captured. If you are on an assistantship, you should be registered on or before the last day to add classes each semester.

In order for graduate assistants to be exempt from FICA tax, you must have a minimum registration of four hours for the fall and spring semesters and three hours in the summer. If you are registered for less than the stated hours, FICA will be withheld.

Students should not receive assistantship support for more than five semesters (excluding summer sessions). Students in doctoral programs should not receive assistantship support for more than ten semesters (excluding summer sessions).

Teaching assistants assigned primary responsibility for the administration, instruction, and evaluation of students enrolled in courses must have satisfactorily completed a minimum of 18 semester hours of English graduate course work and successfully completed ENGL 6625. These students will also receive in-service training, will be under the direct supervision of the Director of Composition, and will be evaluated each semester.

Out-of-State Tuition Remissions

There are a limited number of out-of-state tuition remissions, which cover the out-of-state portion of tuition. The remissions are highly competitive, and awarded via your respective graduate program. The minimum criteria for eligibility are:

As a prospective student, you are strongly advised to apply to your graduate program as early as possible in order to be considered for these awards. For more information, please contact Dr. Matt Cox, Director of Graduate Studies in English, or his assistant.