Teaching Assistantships & Academic Progress
Stipends
Most students in the department are supported financially through teaching assistantships. The current basic stipend is $10,700 for a nine-month appointment. Doctoral students who have passed the Qualifying Examination receive a stipend of $12,000, while those that have achieved Candidacy receive $13,000.
Continued Support
Students that are making satisfactory academic progress and are fulfilling their teaching and departmental duties can expect to have continued support. For M.S. students, this means 4 semesters of support (and one summer). Doctoral students entering with a B.S. degree will be supported for 5 years (4 years if entering with an M.S. degree). An additional year of support will usually be given if significant progress is being made toward the doctoral thesis.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Satisfactory academic progress includes maintaining a 3.0 cumulative GPA, satisfactory course grades (B or better), and passing required examinations in a timely manner.
English Proficiency
International Students who are not sufficiently proficient in English to teach in the classroom in their first year will be given other departmental duties. It is expected that the student will demonstrate this proficiency by passing the University's Spoken Language Proficiency Test (SLPT) by the end of the first year. A student that does not satisfy this requirement is at risk of having the assistantship terminated.
Summer Support
There are usually about 20-25 teaching assistantship positions available in the summer. These will be decided based on the needs of the department.