Let’s face it, graduate school is expensive. And if you are an international student, you don’t have the luxury to take time off to work and save money for school. You have to finish your degree in one go. If you do not have a fellowship and do not have the financial resources to pay for your postgraduate studies, a Graduate Teaching Assistantship might come in handy.

A Teaching Assistant (T.A) helps out the professor by grading undergraduate papers, delivering lectures, holding office hours and conducting lab sessions. A full time Teaching Assistant is expected to work 20 hours per week and a part time Teaching Assistant works 10 hours per week. Teaching Assistants can sometimes also help out professors with their research or special projects.

Teaching Assistants get their tuition waived for up to 8 credits, every semester for which they are a T.A. They also get an annual stipend anywhere from $6500 to $15000. Teaching Assistantship positions are not only limited to academia. A Graduate Assistantship position with Residential Life could be extremely beneficial to international students financially. The student would work as a Hall Director or Assistant Hall Director for a campus dorm. This position would have the benefit of free room and board in addition to free tuition and stipend. Teaching Assistantships allow international students to gain valuable work experience. They also foster relationships with professors that can be later used to get job referrals.

To get a job as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, students need to be first admitted to the university. Available positions are posted on the university’s website and on departmental bulletin boards. All positions usually fill up within a couple weeks of the start of the semester. Apply as early as possible to increase your chances of getting the job. Talk to your professors and let them know that you are interested in a T.A. position. Don’t just apply for the job and wait to hear back from them. Be proactive. Find out the name of the person responsible for hiring and send them a short email stating that you have applied for the position and are very interested in the job. Bigger universities usually have a lot of T.A. positions, so your chances will be more if you are enrolled at a big university.

Teaching Assistantships offer a lot of rewards for little work. They take out the financial worry for international graduate students. What is your opinion on Teaching Assistantships? Please comment.