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Graduate Assistantships

Graduate assistantships are the primary source of funding for graduate students at UT and are offered by academic departments and administrative offices of the university. An assistantship is a financial award to a graduate student for part-time work in teaching, administration, or research while pursuing an advanced degree. Appointments are normally on a one-fourth to one-half time basis, usually requiring 10 – 20 hours of service per week (see Graduate Stipends). The annual stipend is payable in either nine or twelve monthly installments. In addition to the stipend, Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA), Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAssoc), Graduate Assistants (GA), and Graduate Research Assistants (GRA), with appointments on a one-fourth time basis or higher, are entitled to a waiver of maintenance, tuition, mandatory fees, and differential tuition for the period of appointment. These appointments also include a benefit of health insurance for the student.

For graduate assistantships offered by departments, you will wish to contact your department or visit their website. However, there are often graduate assistantships offered by administrative offices around the university. While there is no central point of contact for information on positions in these offices, some positions are filled periodically in college advising centers, admission offices, residence halls, and other service offices.

Finding a Graduate Assistantship

Graduate assistantships are offered through many departments and colleges. Information concerning these types of assistance can be obtained from the department in which the student plans to study. All assistantships are governed by the Policy for the Administration of Graduate Assistantships.

The Graduate School shares openings for graduate assistantships whenever possible. If you have any openings to post, please submit them through the GRA/GTA Position Announcement form.

The Bredesen Center
Graduate Assistant
Contact: Allie Burns (aburns@utk.edu)
The UT-ORII The Bredesen Center facilitates 3 PhD programs which are joint with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Bredesen Center (BC) is looking for a graduate assistant to support central administrative tasks including designing and posting BC social media, data management, and event preparation. The position will be expected to work primarily on-campus from the Bredesen Center Offices in Ferris Hall and involves occasional evening and weekend work.