Graduate assistantships are limited in number and are awarded on a competitive basis, subject to criteria such as grade point average, test scores, skills offered by the applicant, needs of the college or department, and order in which the assistantship application was received. When awarding assistantships, priority will be given to graduate students who do not hold a 40 hr. per week position. To be eligible for a graduate assistantship, a graduate student must complete the following procedures:
- Complete an application for an assistantship, available from the School of Graduate Studies website www.saumag.edu/graduate/forms/ga, which describes previous training and experience supported by at least three references. The applicant may indicate an area of preferred placement on the application. The deadlines to apply for an assistantship: July 1st for fall, December 1st for spring, and April 1st for summer. The application for an assistantship must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, who will verify that the student has met all criteria established below and forward the application to the department/director granting the assistantship. Applicants who visit campus offices (other than the School of Graduate Studies) requesting a position may not be considered for an assistantship.
- Be fully admitted to the School of Graduate Studies at SAU.
- Enroll in a minimum of six and a maximum of nine hours of graduate work (three/six per summer session). If the student’s enrollment drops below six hours (three hours each summer session), any unused portion of the assistantship and all fee reductions must be forfeited. The effective date for forfeiting unused portions of the assistantship will be the date in which the student withdraws from a course and thus falls below the minimum course load requirement. Please keep in mind that graduate students must be enrolled in nine hours to be officially considered full-time according to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education definition.
- 15 weeks for the fall and spring semesters (total of 300 hours per semester)
- 5 weeks each summer session (total of 100 hours per semester)
- Have a grade point of at least 3.00 on all graduate coursework.
- Have no grade of C or lower in a graduate course.
- Tuition: Students who reside outside of Arkansas can complete the Graduate Assistant Waiver of Non-Resident Tuition to waive the out-of-state fee. If you wish to pay tuition and fees out of your stipend, please visit student accounts prior to the payment deadline to set up a payment plan.
- Stipend: During the fall and spring semesters, students will receive four paychecks of $1,000 each for a total of $4,000 per semester. During summer terms, students will receive one paycheck of $1,320 per semester.
- Timesheets: It is the responsibility of the graduate assistant to submit timesheets to the School of Graduate Studies by 5 p.m. on the day they are due. Failure to follow this procedure repeatedly will cause a delay in receiving a paycheck.
- Evaluations: The supervisor and the graduate assistant should meet at the end of each month to complete an evaluation. Completed evaluations should be submitted to the graduate office.
- Have a grade point average of at least 3.00 on all graduate hours taken.
- Have no grade of C or lower in a graduate course.
- Enroll in a minimum of six and maximum of nine hours of graduate work (three/six per summer session).
- Satisfactory ratings (average score of 3) for all evaluations received the previous semester.