Assistantship Fact Sheet

General Information
Types of Assistantships
Assistantship Criteria 
Application Process
Additional JMU Employment

General Information

  • To determine which departments on campus use assistants, you may view a list of assistantship departments.
  • Assistantships funded through grants may be paid at differing rates and tuition scholarships may or may not be available.
  • Assistantships do not pay tuition for courses dropped after the university's tuition refund deadline.
  • Tuition for dropped courses will be the responsibility of the student.
  • Graduate assistantships do not pay undergraduate tuition.
  • Distant learning tuition rates will not be paid in situations that require additional expenditures from the assistantship budget.
  • GAs are responsible for tuition for all additional hours or tuition costs above the designated number covered by the contract.
  • All GAs assist their assistantship department 20 hours per week and earn a stipend, which is paid in semi-monthly installments. Stipends for GAs are $7382 ($3,691 per semester). Stipends for TAs are $8,664 ($4,332 per semester). Assistantships pay 9 credits of graduate coursework each semester.
  • Health Insurance is not included in assistantships. Graduate students may purchase health insurance, for information call: 800-296-1301 or 540-434-1301.

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Types of Assistantships

There are 3 types of assistantships available at James Madison University: Graduate, Teaching, Doctoral.

  • Graduate Assistantships
    Graduate Assistants are assigned to an academic department to assist faculty members in preparing for instruction, grading papers, conducting research, preparing laboratories, performing departmental administrative tasks, etc. or GAs may be assigned to an administrative office. Specific duties will vary.
  • Teaching Assistantships
    Teaching Assistants are assigned to an academic department and are expected to instruct six credit hours of course work or an equivalent of six credit hours of laboratory. Students may also be awarded a teaching assistantship to assist other professors, within the department, with grading, etc. Teaching assistants must have completed a minimum of 18 hours of appropriate graduate coursework. Teaching Assistants are directly supervised by a graduate faculty member.

  • Doctoral Assistantships
    Some Doctoral Assistantships may cover more than 9 hours/semester tuition. Some Doctoral Assistantships may pay higher stipend. Some Doctoral Assistantships may be in effect through summer.

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Assistantship Criteria

    To be considered for an assistantship a student must:
  • Be conditionally or unconditionally accepted into a graduate degree program,
  • Have an official transcript on file indicating completion of a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution within the first semester if the degree is completed the summer prior to fall enrollment.
  • To retain or reapply for an assistantship, a student must maintain an overall GPA of a 3.0 or higher.

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The Application Process
Your graduate program may have assistantship positions that you may be eligible to fill. Your first step to acquire an assistantship should be to contact your own graduate program to inform them of your interest in an assistantship.

To apply for an assistantship

go to http://www.jmu.edu/humanresources/joblink.shtml
  • click on "login as applicant"
  • click on "search job openings"
  • under position type drop down menu, click on "graduate assistantship"
  • click on "search"
  • select position you are interested in and complete and submit application. Assistantship departments contact applicants directly to set up interviews. If you are selected for an assistantship, the department draws up contract materials and forwards them to the CGOP. After you sign the contract and complete the tax forms, return them immediately to the assistantship department so information can be entered into the payroll system.

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    Questions concerning your assistantship should be made directly to the assistantship department.

    Regarding Additional JMU Employment:
    Graduate students receiving stipends from VA state funds are occasionally permitted to accept JMU employment in addition to the 20 assistantship hours. Permission for such employment must come from The Graduate School, in response to a request by the student's graduate coordinator or advisor. The student and the coordinator or advisor should carefully consider the overall effect of additional employment on the student's academic performance. If the coordinator or advisor endorses the additional employment, he or she sends an e-mail requesting approval to the mailto:rymanle@jmu.edu. If approved, TGS will notify payroll.

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