Graduate Assistantships

Graduate assistantships (GA) are available for first and second year students in the On-Campus program. The total number available varies year by year pending funding and is competitive. A graduate assistantship consists of 14-20 hours per week with a current 9-month salary from $6681-10,100 and includes student health benefits. Some assistantships may involve less hours per week and some may involve an earlier start date than the traditional academic calendar (and earn more beyond the base salary). Students who get graduate assistantships also pay full tuition (ie... it is not waived). The out-of-state tuition fee may be waived for students who are coming to the program from out-of-state so that they pay the same tuition cost as in-state students.  Note that you must be enrolled full-time (9-12 credits)to be eligible for a graduate assistantship and have a minimum of a 2.85 GPA. 

Interviews for graduate assistantships take place the same day you interview for for admission to the program. You will meet with individual graduate assistantship supervisors for approximately thirty minutes so that they can interview you and you can learn more about their open positions. Students and departments indicate their preferences and these lists are then considered when final admission decisions are made. Because of all the different situations and choices involved, we can't guarantee that you will get your first choice or that we will have graduate assistant positions available for everyone due to budgetary circumstances although we try hard to make this happen. Some students elect to stay in the same GA position both years while others select a different position their second year to perhaps gain more experience in an area of interest. In addition, some graduate assistants require a two-year commitment. Interviews are conducted in the spring for first year students who want to obtain a different GA position during their second year in the program. 

Although we can't guarantee every student in our program a GA position, we have a good reputation within the campus community and work hard to offer a variety of student affairs-related GA positions every year. The budget situation for each individual office determines whether they can fund an assistantship for the year or not. If you don't see an area listed here that you might be interested in related to your career goals, we would encourage you to pursue an internship opportunity in that office during your second year in the program. For example, our Office of International Education does not have any GA positions every year but we have several students who will be doing internships there during this academic year. The following departments have graduate assistantships for the 2010-11 academic year and most of them offer GA opportunities every year (some have several positions):

  • Academic Advising Center
  • Admissions
  • Career Services
  • College of Liberal Studies
  • College of Science & Health
  • Disability Resource Services
  • Office of Multicultural Student Services
  • McNair Scholars Program
  • Office of International Education
  • Center for Advancing Teaching & Learning (CATL)
  • Psychology Department
  • Residence Life
  • Student Life Office
  • University Centers
  • UW-Eau Claire Center for International Education -- Online degree program option in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
  • Western Technical College -- Residence Life & Violence Prevention Project

The descriptions are as follows:

Academic Advising Center
Graduate assistants work individually and in workshop format to assist undeclared students make academic and career decisions. The assistants are involved with individual advising, campus outreach, vocational testing, and electronic career information and guidance systems like DISCOVER, World Wide Web, and WCIS (Wisconsin Career Information System).

Admissions
Graduate assistants will be involved in campus admissions process and oversight of the Vanguards (who provide campus tours). Representing the Admissions Office to provide University information to perspective students and their families may also be a responsibility for this GA.

Career Services
The assistantship in Career Services could include any of the following activities: Advising students regarding their job search, conducting workshops on job search topics, speaking to classes, organizing special events such as job search seminars and career panels, developing employer contacts, assisting with research projects and designing office literature. The specific activities of each assistantship are dependent upon the interests and abilities of the graduate student as well as the needs of the office.

College of Liberal Studies
The purpose of the advising position is to involve the graduate student with the academic advising process in the College of Liberal Studies. The experience provides hands on training in the field of academic advising and exposure to the literature, theory and practice of advising. In addition, the experience is designed to acquaint the student with the many academic policies of the University and provide an understanding of how academic policy is implemented.

The other GA position in CLS involves working with an Associate Dean of the College.  These duties and projects will be assigned by the Associate Dean and may change on a yearly basis.

College of Science & Health
This position is similar to the position in the College of Liberal Studies in that it involves academic advising and offers hands on training in the many academic policies and processes in the College.

Disability Resource Services
The mission of the DRS is to collaborate with students with disabilities to identify, reduce, or eliminate barriers to obtaining education within the most integrated settings possible. GA's in this office will be involved in the advising process, assist with educational programming and responsibilities to meet the needs of the office.

McNair Scholars Program
The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program is federally funded by the United States Department of Education to provide eligible students with support and preparation for graduate school.  Graduate assistants in this position will provide administrative, programming and mentoring support for this program. 

Office of International Education
The Office of International Education is responsible for international student recruitment and admissions, advising and support services for enrolled international students, and providing exchange and study abroad opportunities for UW-L students.  The current GA is involved in the study abroad services of the office which includes advising, assisting with educational programming, and marketing of the study abroad options. 

Office of Multicultural Student Services
Graduate students interested in an assistantship in the Office of Multicultural Student Services have the option of working in three distinct program areas. These areas include Retention (Peer Tutoring Academic Advising, Academic Success Group, Orientation, Leadership Development ) Pre college (tutoring and enrichment program, Blue Wing, S.E. Asian, Native American, and Community Outreach), and Cultural Programming (Awareness Weeks, Student Organizations, Coalition Building, Leadership Conference, and Student Advisory Committee). Graduate assistants are expected to be committed to culture, community, and consciousness.

Psychology Department
The primary purpose of this position is to provide academic advising to pre-psyc and psychology majors. Working with the Psychology faculty, other duties may be assigned as well that make this a well-rounded experience in this highly respected department. This experience is open to 2nd-year students only because it requires a 1-credit practicum in the spring of the first year as part of the training to "hit the ground running" in the fall when the GA starts.

Residence Life
Assistant Residence Hall Directors will by assigned to work in one of the three large halls and report directly to the Hall Director of that particular hall. As a live-in position, specific responsibilities could include: Assist the Hall Director in advising hall government, act as resource for and liaison between the Resident Assistants and Hall Director, attend Residence Life, Development, and Area meetings, supervise the residence hall in the Hall Director's absence.

Residence Life Graduate Assistants will be assigned to work with an area of residence halls and report to an Area Coordinator. As a live-off position, specific responsibilities could include: Assisting Hall Directors in advising hall government, oversee educational programming of a special project, and attending Residence Life, Development, and Area meetings.

Student Life Office
In the Office of Student Life the graduate assistant is responsible for the following:

  • Initiation of university withdrawal procedures
  • Serve as advisor to the Returning Adult Student Organization
  • Respond to student crises as appropriate
  • Serve as editor of the College Student Development and Administration program's newsletter
  • Other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

University Centers
Assistantships are focused on advising student organizations and providing programming experience. Some possible areas of employment are:

  • Campus Activities Board
  • Leadership
  • Diversity Resource Center
  • Involvement Center
  • Cellar programming
  • Student employment
  • Sports and Activities Club Council
  • Lectures and Concerts Committee
  • Greek Organizations

Administrative positions are also available in Dining service and recreation--including the Recreational Eagle Center.

UW-Eau Claire Center for International Education
The UW-La Crosse Student Affairs Administration (SAA) graduate program and the UW-Eau Claire Center for International Education are collaborating to offer this unique graduate internship opportunity. This graduate student intern will be enrolled in the SAA online graduate program while engaging in the responsibilities described below.  Applicants will need to be offered an admission interview for the SAA graduate program in order to interview for this intern position.   Please contact Jodie Rindt, Ph.D., SAA Program Director, for more information at rindt.jodi@uwlax.edu .

The Study Abroad Graduate Intern will be housed in the UW-Eau Claire Center for International Education and report to the study abroad coordinators. The Study Abroad Graduate Intern will be involved in general study abroad outreach and will also have the special assignment of outreach to under-represented groups in the field of study abroad. The intern will conduct specialized outreach to these groups to increase participation among UW-Eau Claire student populations that are not fully accessing available opportunities for high impact experiences such as study abroad.  The position will also engage in special “Whole World” promotion to encourage UW-Eau Claire students to study abroad outside of traditional study abroad destinations in Western Europe and Australia.

Western Technical College -- Residence Life and Violence Prevention Project
Similar to our UWL graduate assistantship positions, these graduate assistantships offer great opportunities at Western Technical College, our neighbor a few blocks away. They allow our students the opportunity to gain experience in a technical college environment. Currently, these positions require a 2-year commitment.