teaching and research assistantships

Teaching and research assistants/associates are responsible for adhering to policies outlined in the TA/RA Handbook. The most common forms of financial support for graduate students at ASU are graduate research and teaching assistantships.

Applications for graduate teaching/research assistantships are available on the Graduate College website or through a student's academic unit. Graduate teaching/research assistantship vacancies are posted by the hiring unit (usually on their website or their college's website). Students are encouraged to contact those units where their academic credentials, skills, and/or experience may be appropriate for an assistantship. 

Note: All first-time TAs are required to participate in the Teaching Assistant Development (TAD) program.

Assistantships carry a monthly compensatory stipend for services rendered, include activities that are relevant to each student’s own program of study, and contribute to ASU’s teaching and research effort. Each department publishes assistantship opportunities. Assistants must be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours each semester (audit hours do not count towards the six hour minimum); appointments can range from ten to twenty hours a week. Stipend amounts can vary according to the responsibilities of the position.

There are two assistantship categories:

• Teaching Assistants have a primary responsibility in an instructional capacity. Services provided by a graduate teaching assistant may include lecturing, leading discussion groups, serving as assistants to laboratory classes, and grading tests and papers.
• Research Assistants are selected for excellence in scholarship and promise as researchers. They do part-time research as a portion of their training under the direct supervision of regular faculty members.

In addition to teaching and research assistantships, graduate students are eligible for hourly, work-study, and stipend positions on- and off-campus. To search job postings, sign in with your ASURITE ID at http://students.asu.edu/employment/search.