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Graduate Appointment

FAQ

Can you explain the pay rate and tuition waiver that appear in the Letter of Appointment for my teaching assistantship?

Effective Fall 2023:  The figures in the Administrative Information Summary on the last page of your Letter of Appointment may require some explanation.  If you are appointed as a teaching assistant at 0.50 FTE, you will be paid an annual stipend of $26,000. This is paid over 12 months. The stipend is paid biweekly, with 26.1 biweekly pay periods in a year (26.1 pay periods x 14 days/pay period = 365 days). Therefore the biweekly pay amount is $996.16 (=$26,000/26.1).

The fall letter of appointment covers the 9-month academic year (August to May), which has 19.5 pay periods. Therefore it indicates a total stipend amount of (19.5x$996.16=) $19,425.28 for the academic year.  For the summer (May to August) you will receive a separate letter of appointment for the remaining $6,574.72 of your stipend.

Under the terms of this letter of appointment, you will be registered for a minimum of 9 graduate credits.  The tuition for your registered credits will be separately paid by the university.  You will not need to pay tuition. This arrangement is referred to as a ‘tuition waiver’:  your teaching assistantship provides you a stipend and tuition waiver.