| Q1: What is
a Graduate Assistant (GA)? |
| A GA is a graduate student who is employed by the University.
A GA typically works 10 hours per week although a few positions
require 15 or 20 hours per week. In exchange for this work,
a GA receives a stipend (wage) and a scholarship covering tuition,
non-resident fee, and general fee for Fall and Spring semesters
and a scholarship for tuition and non-resident fee scholarship
for the classes in July and August for the following Summer
semester.
GAs typically work for one of the College's departments.
These departments include: Accounting & Management Information
Systems, Applied Statistics & Operations Research, Economics,
Finance, Graduate Studies in Business, Information Services,
Legal Studies and International Business, Management, Marketing,
and the Dean's Office. |
| Q2: Who is
eligible for a GA position? |
| Any full time MBA student who has been admitted on a regular
basis and has an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 is eligible.
Both domestic and international students are eligible for funding
during the first semester in the program. A student also may
receive funding after being enrolled in one or more semesters
without funding. |
| Q3: What work
do GAs perform? |
| Work assignments vary widely among departments, with each
department determining the nature of the work. Some examples
of recent GA duties include: grading exams, teaching classes,
creating and maintaining departmental homepages, tutoring students,
conducting library research, assisting with professors' lectures,
or performing administrative duties. Some GAs are assigned to
individual professors, whereas others may be given assignments
by the department as they are needed. |
| Q4: How many
GA positions are available? |
| The number of positions varies from year to year. The precise
number depends on the number of returning GAs, the total GA
budget for the year, and the needs of the various departments.
The majority of GA contracts awarded begin in the fall semester.
Relatively few positions are awarded during the Spring. Although
GAs receive tuition scholarships for summer classes, GA stipends
are rarely awarded for summer. |
| Q5: How selective
are you when considering GAs? |
| In a typical year, approximately 35% of the full time MBA
applicants are awarded funding. |
| Q6: How many
credit hours are GAs required to take? |
| All GAs must be registered for a minimum of 12 graduate credit
hours during both the fall and spring semesters. The summer
term has no minimum credit hour requirement. |
| Q7: Are GAs
required to maintain a minimum grade point average? |
| Yes. To remain eligible for funding, a GA must maintain at
least a 3.00 grade point average in his or her graduate courses.
Failure to meet this standard could result in a GA losing his
or her funding. |
| Q8: What are
the criteria for GA selection? |
| Although some criteria for GA selection vary with the position,
we use a general set of credentials to identify qualified applicants.
First, we look for an applicant with high academic potential.
We expect GAs to work to a high standard, and we reward this
academic potential with funding. Three of the most common
ways by which potential is judged are by an applicant's GMAT
score (and TOEFL, if required), by undergraduate and/or graduate
grades, and by professional work experience. A student who
is not funded during his or her first semester may reapply
after a semester or more of study in the MBA program.
No minimum GMAT or TOEFL score is required, although applicants
with GMAT scores above 550 and TOEFL scores above 550 and
TOEFL scores above 600 have a much better chance to be awarded
funding than candidates with lower scores. To be eligible,
an applicant must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.00/4.00.
Applicants with higher GPAs have a better chance to be awarded
funding than those with lower GPAs.
After we determine that an applicant meets the standards
for academic potential, we compare an applicant's background
and preferences to the available positions. The resulting
matches vary from semester to semester, depending upon which
GA positions are available. For example, if the Accounting
and Management Information Systems Department has an opening
for a GA with computer programming skills and experience,
then preference will be given to applicants with this background.
Work experience may help, but is not mandatory. |
| Q9: What can
a candidate do to enhance his or her chances for a GA position?
|
| A student's abilities and GA potential are often difficult
to assess based only upon test scores, grades, and a resume.
For this reason, we welcome any additional materials that show
evidence of your skills, pertinent work or school experiences,
and your teamwork and leadership abilities. A personal interview
is not required. However, if you feel that it will enhance our
understanding of your candidacy for a GA position, a visit or
telephone interview can be arranged. |
| Q10: If I am
turned down for a GA position, may I re-apply for funding? |
| Yes. Students may always re-apply for future GA openings. |
| Q11: What are
the important deadlines to be considered for a GA position?
|
| Our GA selection process begins in January for the following
July. We only consider GA candidates who already have been admitted
to their graduate programs. If you have not been fully admitted
to your program at the time we are conducting our GA review,
we will not consider you for a GA position. This means that
if you want to be considered for funding, you must submit your
completed application package before February 1. If you miss
this deadline, or if the materials you submitted are incomplete,
we may not be able to make an admission decision in time to
consider you for funding.
If you miss the March 1 deadline, your application will still
be considered. However, students who have been fully admitted
before the GA selection process begins will have an advantage
over those who are admitted later. |
| Q12: It's the
month of May and I haven't heard about a GA appointment for
fall. What does this mean? |
| It means that you were not selected in the "first round"
of decisions. We review the qualified applicants, make our initial
decisions, and then contact each GA candidate directly to notify
him or her of the offer. If you are not notified by May, this
means that you were not among the first positions awarded.
Even if you do not receive one of the initial appointments,
you remain eligible for selection during the subsequent rounds
of decisions. Subsequent rounds occur if positions remain
unfilled or new positions have been created. In that event,
we review our applicant list to select additional qualified
candidates. Even if you are not among the first positions
awarded, you may yet receive an offer of a GA appointment.
On occasion, fall semester GA positions unexpectedly become
available during the summer, and positions might reopen in
early December. When this occurs, we again return to our GA
applicant list and make offers to qualified candidates. In
other words, all qualified GA candidates have an opportunity
to be selected until all the GA positions are filled. For
this reason, we do not mail "rejection" letters
to students who were not selected in the first or second rounds
of decisions. Of course, the closer it is to the start of
the fall or spring semester, the greater the chances are that
all the GA positions have been filled.
In summary, if we select you for a GA position, we will contact
you immediately. You do not need to contact us unless you
want to withdraw your application. If you are selected, we
will contact you. If you require a firm answer from us in
order to make your decision on graduate school, please contact
our office. |
| Q13: If I am
awarded a GA position, how many years of funding can I expect
to receive? |
| GA contracts that begin in the fall semester are written for
an academic year (this includes both fall and spring semesters).
GA contracts that begin in the spring semester are written for
the spring semester only. At the end of the academic year, GAs
are given the opportunity to apply for funding for the following
fall semester. Funded students who are approved for continued
support are given priority over new applicants. Graduate students
at the master's degree level may receive a maximum of two (2)
years of stipend support, which exceeds the time required to
complete the MBA program. |
| Q14: Are there
other places on campus that award GA positions? |
| Yes. In previous years, MBA students have obtained GA positions
from several other departments on campus. Please contact the
Graduate Studies in Business office for details. |
| Q15: Are there
any other sources of funding to consider? |
| On occasion, the Graduate College awards tuition scholarships
for students without GA positions. However, this is rare. We
can assist you in requesting a scholarship (scholarship request
forms are available from the Graduate Studies in Business office).
However, students requesting a scholarship rarely receive one
for their first semester of enrollment. Please contact the Graduate
Studies in Business office for details. |
