Graduate Appointment Information

Graduate Appointment Information


Shortcuts:

For students:
Graduate assistant employment
TA information page

For faculty:
RA salary fringe and tuition costs
Advanced RA salary fringe and tuition costs


Contact:

Margaux Lassegard
mepay@umn.edu
612-624-3355

John Gardner
gardn032@umn.edu
612-625-2009
 

Research Assistantships

Research assistantships (RAs) are appointments from faculty members who hold research contracts and grants. These appointments usually materialize through direct discussions with individual faculty. Please see individual faculty pages for more information on research topics. The faculty member providing support will serve as your academic advisor. Appointments vary, depending on the availability of funds and the academic progress of the student. Research appointments are made at any time in the calendar year depending on funding and other factors.

What comes with an assistantship?

  • CSE Collegiate Fee waiver
    • Must work 195 hours minimum (25%) over the semester to be eligible.
  • Resident tuition rate
    • Must work 195 hours minimum (25%) over the semester to be eligible.
  • Tuition benefits
    • Must work 98 hours minimum (12.5%) over the semester to be eligible.
    • Tuition benefit amounts are based on the resident tuition rate for that semester, regardless if the student is eligible for the resident tuition rate or not.
      • 25% appointment covers half tuition, 50% covers all tuition, etc.
    • Summer appointments do not typically include tuition benefits.
  • Graduate Assistantship Health Plan
    • Must work 195 hours minimum (25%) over the semester to be eligible.
    • One-time fee: ~$100 each year is charged to student accounts
    • 25% appointment covers half GAHP cost, 50% appointment fully covers GAHP cost
    • Visit https://shb.umn.edu/health-plans/gahp-home to learn more

Registration

  • All students holding an appointment need to be registered full time (6 credits) every Fall and Spring semester to maintain their active status. 
  • There is a flat tuition rate for any students registered anywhere from 6 to 14 credits. Anything over 14 credits will be billed per credit and not covered by a paid assistantship appointment. 
  • Spring registration maintains an active status through the following summer semester.
  • Students need to be registered every fall and spring semester to maintain their active status, regardless of funding.
  • If a student is not funded and has completed all coursework they will most likely will need to register for GRAD 0999.
    • GRAD 0999 is a zero credit class that will maintain a student’s active status with the Graduate School. However, it will not maintain a full-time status for anything else such as an assistantship appointment (RA or TA), visa status, or deferred student loans.
    • International students can get a waiver from ISSS to register for GRAD 0999, but must check with ISSS before registering.

Advanced Status Students

The following are special courses that advanced PhD and MSME students can register for that will qualify them for a lower fringe rate, which also comes with a 10% hourly rate increase on assistantships.

  • ME 8444: Students should register for ME 8444 as soon as possible. PhD students who have completed all of their thesis credits (ME 8888) are eligible to apply for the Advanced Doctoral Status the following semester. When registering for ME 8444, this should be the only class the student is registered for.
  • ME 8333: MS Plan A and B students who have completed all coursework and research credits are eligible for the Advanced Masters Status. They will need to apply for the Advanced Masters Status each semester. When registering for ME 8333, this should be the only class the student is registered for.

Research Assistant Request Process for Faculty

  1. Before the start of each semester, Payroll will send out an announcement to each faculty member to fill in the Google Sheet for the upcoming semester. Past semester requests are archived there for reference.
  2. Once the student rows are filled out, the faculty member should insert their initials on the sheet to let the accountants know it is ready for approval.
  3. Accountants work with faculty members to make any necessary changes, and approve the appointments. We encourage faculty to communicate with their graduate students at this time about their RA appointments.
  4. Appointments are entered.
    -First time appointments – centralized at the CSE Payroll Cluster
    -Returning appointments – department level
  5. Student accounts are updated automatically every weekend.