Each year the Lynch School makes available a limited number of graduate assistantships and teaching fellowships. Awards are given for one year and students seeking continued funding must reapply on an annual basis.
Types of Assistantships
Graduate research assistants are typically involved in research activities such as library searches, literature reviews, data collection, data entry and analysis, and report writing. In addition, assistants may be asked to help faculty in grading exams, keeping records, photocopying, helping with research for classes, and other tasks. Additional assistantships may be available throughout the campus and may involve administrative work, academic advising, career counseling, and other related duties.
Teaching fellows may teach Master’s level practicum and internship courses under the supervision of the Master’s practicum director. Opportunities are also available on occasion for advanced Doctoral students to teach courses in the undergraduate Human Development Program. One course each semester is the requirement for receiving half an assistantship and teaching two courses per semester is the requirement for receiving a full assistantship. In addition to planning class meetings, conducting classes, meeting with site supervisors and evaluating students, teaching fellows will keep regular posted office hours and have students evaluate the courses using the standardized university evaluation form.
Graduate office assistants provide administrative assistance to faculty who coordinate Doctoral and Master’s Programs and to the Master’s Practicum Coordinator. Responsibilities may include a variety of tasks such as helping to maintain Program records, preparing newsletters, organizing admissions materials and meeting with students. Graduate office assistants also work in the Office of Graduate Student Services, responding to inquiries of prospective applicants and assisting the office with a variety of admissions tasks and processes.
An award of a full-time graduate assistantship carries the expectation that the student will be available for 20 hours per week for 9 months. Half-time graduate assistants need to be available 10 hours per week. The students’ work schedule is negotiated with the supervising faculty member so as to not conflict with any courses that the student may be taking. Persons who have graduate assistantships should be aware that vacation days during the year follow the staff calendar not the student class calendar.
A limited number of graduate research assistantships are available for the summer months. Students who are interested in summer funding are asked to indicate their interest and time availability when they submit their application for funding for the next academic year.
Assistantships usually carry a stipend (service and non-service) and tuition remission for most of a students’ coursework. Amounts vary depending upon the type of award.
Students who are awarded a graduate assistantship or a teaching fellowship must be enrolled as a full-time Doctoral student and may not carry any incomplete coursework. Students accepting assistantships or fellowships may not accept any additional commitment of employment without prior consultation with and permission of their advisor, the Director of Training and the Lynch School Associate Dean.
Application Process
Applications for graduate assistantships and teaching fellowships are available through the admissions office (Campion 135) and the department office (Campion 309). Applications must be filed each year and submitted to the department by March 30.
Students may apply for full-time (20 hours per week) and part-time (10 hours per week) positions as graduate research assistants, teaching fellows, and graduate office assistants. Students applying for graduate research assistantships can indicate their preference and availability for 9-month and summer awards.
Students should indicate on the assistantship application their preference for a research, teaching or administrative assistantship. A supplemental required form is available via the training director on which students should discuss their professional goals and research interests and their clinical/field commitments for the subsequent year.
Selection and Assignment Process
The two co-existing purposes that serve as rationale for awarding graduate assistantships are the training needs of our Doctoral students and the need to meet departmental administrative and teaching responsibilities and faculty research goals. Related to the first, assistantships are assigned to help Doctoral students obtain sequential exposure to experiences involving research, teaching and administration. Assignments are made in an effort to best meet both sets of needs, within the constraints of available resources and opportunities. Keeping in mind both sets of needs, graduate assistantships are typically assigned in the following way.
First year Doctoral students are generally awarded research assistantships, but may be awarded administrative assistantships as part of their package.
Second year Doctoral students are typically assigned teaching responsibilities for the Master’s level principles and techniques of counseling and practicum courses.
Third year Doctoral students typically are assigned to the Master’s internship seminar. The teaching assignments in the second and third years are intended to provide Doctoral students with a sequential experience in teaching and supervision under the guidance and supervision of faculty mentors.
Second and third year students are also eligible to apply for research assistantships and graduate office assistantships. Third and fourth year Doctoral students may also be considered on occasion for undergraduate teaching in the Human Development Program. Third and fourth year students also are encouraged to explore with their advisors and training director some of the graduate assistantship opportunities available across the campus. Fourth year students will be considered for assistantship opportunities within the department when opportunities remain after the requests of first, second and third year students have been met. It is important to note that the program cannot guarantee that graduate assistantships will always be available. Moreover, students are generally provided with coverage for most of their tuition costs
The Director of Training (DOT), the Master’s Program Coordinators, and the Master’s Practicum Coordinator make selections and assignments for the Master’s practicum and internship courses.
The Department Chair, in conjunction with recommendations from the DOT, makes recommendations for undergraduate teaching.
Faculty review graduate student assistantship applications to identify graduate research assistants who match the needs of their research and outreach scholarship projects. This process generally begins in early April after faculty members are notified of Lynch School research assistantship allocations. Prior student experience and competencies, as well as student interests, schedule availability, and opportunities for professional development of the student, are some of the factors often considered by faculty in selecting graduate assistants.
The Program Coordinators for the Doctoral and Master’s Program also review applications at this time to identify possible candidates for administrative assistantships based upon student interests, skills and schedule.
After reviewing graduate student applicants, faculty members submit their top three choices to the Director of Training. The Director of Training (DOT) and the Department Chair review faculty requests to assess matches between faculty choices and student preferences. The DOT and Department Chair discuss these with faculty in the process of facilitating student assignments. The DOT and Department Chair seek to facilitate this process in a way that ensures that all students participate in a variety of research and teaching experiences over the course of their Doctoral training.
Although efforts are made to meet student preferences and offer a range of experiences, there are realistic constraints to the process. For example, student opportunities to work with specific faculty are based upon allocations to faculty made by the Dean’s Office and upon external funding secured through faculty grants. Student opportunities to obtain desired experiences are limited by the nature of faculty projects at any point in time. To meet the funding requests/needs of students, students may be offered assistantships with faculty in the department, but not in Counseling Psychology, and, on occasion, with faculty outside of the department.
Efforts are made to announce awards by early May. Thus, students applying for the limited number of awards that offer summer funding are advised to consider additional options for summer support.
Letters of award are sent out from the Office of the Associate Dean and students may accept or decline the award. Students have three weeks to inform the office if they are going to decline the award. Some faculty choose to contact identified graduate research assistants students personally before the letters are sent out to clarify responsibilities and determine the student’s willingness to accept the terms of the award. Similarly, the Department Chair and Director of Training typically discuss teaching assignments with graduate students before these assignments are finalized.