Graduate Studies

Graduate Assistantships

The University offers a limited number of graduate assistantships through its academic departments and administrative offices. Inquiries regarding assistantships should be directed to the Dean of Graduate School. The Office of Graduate School will accept and forward all applications for assistantships to the appropriate department head or supervisor. To ensure timely consideration, please submit all material by April 1 of each academic year.

A graduate student holding an assistantship appointment does part-time work for the University as determined by the department or office involved. Eligibility requirements for graduate assistantships are as follows:

To be eligible for an appointment, an entering graduate student must qualify for unconditional admission to the graduate program.
A student conditionally admitted becomes eligible for an appointment upon completion of 12 hours of graduate course work with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.
A student receiving an assistantship may take a maximum of nine hours and a minimum of six hours of course work per semester. During each summer term, the student may take a maximum of six hours and a minimum of three hours. Exceptions may be made upon the approval of the appropriate department head or supervisor and the Dean of Graduate School.

A student may have a maximum appointment of 50% (20 hours a week) except in the summer when he/she can receive a 100% appointment.

Application for Graduate Assistantship

The documents listed below are required to be furnished to the Office of Graduate School.

Immunization records.
Three letters of recommendation.

For recommendation letters, you may ask people who are well acquainted with your education and abilities. The address of the Office of Graduate school is:

Office of Graduate School
Arkansas Tech University
Tomlinson 104
Russellville, AR 72801-2222

Graduate Assistantship Online Application

General Policy Statement

A limited number of graduate assistantships are made available each year for the purpose of assisting students in meeting their expenses while studying for advance degrees at Arkansas Tech University. Wherever and whenever feasible, the job and/or teaching assignment will be related to the type of graduate program being taken by the individual. Each graduate assistant is assigned to a department or an administrative office. The job/teaching assignment and the supervision of the graduate assistant are the responsibility of the department head or appropriate administrative officer.

A graduate assistantship may be renewed beyond the first year provided the student is progressing satisfactorily toward his/her degree and is performing his/her duties in a satisfactory manner.

In order to be eligible to hold an assistantship, the graduate student should be enrolled for a minimum of six hours of graduate credit per semester, or if holding an assistantship during a summer term, be enrolled for three hours of graduate credit. The maximum number of hours for which an assistantship may be enrolled is nine per semester, or four per summer term. Exceptions may be made upon the approval of the appropriate department head and the Dean of Graduate School.

Unconditional admission to the graduate school is normally required before a graduate assistantship can be awarded.

Confirmation of a student appointment is dependent upon the following process:

The candidate completes an Application for Graduate Assistantship and submits it to the Office of Graduate School. Recommendations for an appointment are forwarded by the office to the school dean or appropriate administrator. The applicant then receives a letter of appointment from the head of the department or administrative office. The applicant must respond to the letter of appointment with a written acceptance. The department/office submits a copy of the appointment and the acceptance letter to the Dean of Graduate School.
The student must have completed the requirements for the baccalaureate degree prior to the first semester of the appointment year and gained unconditional admission to the Graduate Program in order to merit consideration.

To be eligible for reappointment:

A graduate assistant must have made satisfactory progress toward a degree with a cumulative graduate GPA of at least 3.0 and must have demonstrated satisfactory performance of duties assigned in order to retain the appointment. Students who withdrew from or are dismissed from the graduate program become ineligible for, and may not continue to hold, an appointment.

Unsatisfactory performance of the assigned duties of a graduate assistantship will be grounds for termination of the appointment at any time at the discretion of the department head. If, one month after notice of unsatisfactory performance, improvement has not been made to the satisfaction of the department head, the appointment may be terminated.

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