English Graduate Assistantships
The following describes the purpose, duties, compensation and requirements for Graduate Assistantship positions in the UNF Department of English. Updated fall 2021.
Purpose of Position
This Graduate Assistantship exists primarily to support General Education writing courses in the Department's Writing Program. Graduate Assistants are most commonly assigned responsibilities that support Writing Program and Center courses and initiatives.
Duties
Graduate Assistants are hired on a part-time basis for 20 weekly hours to support a variety of activities each semester, as well as projects specific to a particular semester or academic year. Generally, Graduate Assistants are assigned five weekly hours of walk-in support and three to five weekly hours of graduate student writing support in the Writing Center. Graduate Assistants schedule these eight to 10 hours at the start of the semester in consultation with the Director of the Writing Center, who will ensure that scheduled hours do not conflict with each Graduate Assistant's course schedule and academic responsibilities.
Beyond these scheduled hours, Graduate Assistants are also assigned a variety of responsibilities across the semester and academic year to support Writing Program and Center activities and initiatives. These include, but are not limited to, course content and workshop development and facilitation, staffing and tabling Writing Program and Center events and participating in assessing student writing for various courses and program assessments.
Teaching Assistants
Graduate Assistants who have earned 18 or more credit hours in the English M.A. program are eligible to be assigned to a first-year writing course such as ENC 1101 or ENC 1143 as the instructor of record. In this role they work closely with Writing Program and Center faculty to develop and teach their course. Historically this opportunity has taken place during a Graduate Assistant's final semester after completing a variety of coursework and Writing Program and Center professional development. Teaching Assistant roles occupy approximately 10 weekly hours of the Graduate Assistant assignment.
Compensation
First-Year Graduate Assistants
$5,000 per semester
$10,000 across the fall and spring semesters
Second-Year Graduate Assistants
$6,250 per semester
$12,500 across the fall and spring semesters
No summer work is offered at this time, though recently graduated Graduate Assistants often take up part-time faculty teaching positions over the summer terms as a bridge to their next steps.
Graduate Assistants also receive a tuition waiver as part of their compensation. Currently this waiver covers 100% of tuition expenses but excludes student fees.
Enrollment Requirements
Graduate Assistants are required to enroll as full-time students for nine credit hours each semester they are employed. Exceptions are possible but are generally limited to circumstances in which a Graduate Assistant needs fewer hours to graduate in a final semester.
Professional Development
The Department of English and the Writing Program and Center support each Graduate Assistant's ambitions and ongoing development. Each Graduate Assistant arrives with a different set of goals, so we ask Graduate Assistants to collaborate with us to discuss which choices and paths might be a good fit for them, from academic to alt-academic careers.