Graduate assistantships

Students in the M.S.Ed. program gain experience in higher education and student affairs through graduate assistantship or internship positions, full-time positions, and/or practicum placements. Without this essential practical experience, students would miss out on the opportunity to apply what they are learning in the classroom. 

Applicants who are not already working in higher education or student affairs as a bachelor-level professional must be hired into a 20-hr/week paid assistantship or internship at UW La Crosse or one of our partner institutions. As part of the admissions process, we arrange interviews for both the academic program and the graduate student internship/assistantship. 

ON-CAMPUS cohort graduate assistant (GA) positions:

• A graduate assistantship typically consists of 20 hours per week with a 9-month salary starting at $11,291. 
• Per UWL Graduate Studies policy, incoming students must have a minimum 2.85 GPA to be eligible to apply for a GA position at UWL. 
• Graduate assistants working at UWL are eligible for health insurance benefits. For more information, view the benefits at a glance.
• Graduate positions for 2020-2022 include:
  1. Academic Advising Center - filled
  2. Academic Advising, College of Business Administration - filled
  3. Diversity & Inclusion - filled
  4. First-Year Research Exposure (FYRE) Programming - filled
  5. International Education & Engagement - position cancelled
  6. Leadership & Involvement Center - position cancelled
  7. Office of Multicultural Student Services - OPEN
  8. Pride Center - filled
  9. Residence Life (at UWL) - filled
  10. Residence Life (at Western Technical College) - filled
  11. SAA Research & Administration - filled 
  12. Upward Bound - filled
  13. Violence Prevention + Education (at Western Technical College) - position cancelled

ONLINE cohort graduate student internship (GSI) positions:

While the online program is designed for those already working full-time in the field, we also enroll students who are placed in half-time paid internships with one of our partner institutions. 

All graduate student internships for a summer 2020 start date have been filled. Please check back with us in November 2020 for information on positions that may be available for Summer 2021 start, with priority application deadline of Feb 1, 2021. 

• A graduate student internship (GSI) typically consists of 20 hours per week with a 9- or 10-month salary, with pay of $11,000-15,000. Some positions also include housing or other benefits.
• For 2020-2022, openings included the following. Check back in November 2020 for information on anticipated openings for the 2021-2023 cohort:
  1. University of Dubuque (IA) - international education - position cancelled
  2. University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire (UWEC)
     1. Residence Hall Director, Assistant Hall Director, and Graduate Hall Director - all filled
     2. Student Activities & Leadership - position cancelled
  3. University of Wisconsin - Platteville - Pioneer Student Center - position cancelled
  4. University of Wisconsin - Stout all filled
     1. Involvement & Programming Graduate Student Intern 
     2. LGBTQIA+ Graduate Student Intern  
     3. Programming Board Graduate Student Intern 
  5. Chippewa Valley Technical College - Student Life positions in Eau Claire and River Falls, WI) - positions cancelled