Graduate Assistantships

Tuition is reduced in the following manner for both in-state and out-of-state students:

• Academic Year: GA's receive a stipend and tuition waiver for up to 15 credit hours. Any additional credits taken will be charged to the GA at the in-state rate.
• SUMMER: GA's receive a stipend and tuition waiver for up to 9 credit hours (semester I, II, III, IV). Any additional credits taken will be charged to the GA at the in-state rate.

GA's are responsible for paying the first $38 of tuition and all other fees (i.e. athletic, activity, transportation, health clinic, health insurance premiums, etc.). GA's are also responsible for their own living expenses and books.

1. Students must be accepted into a degree-granting masters, specialist, or doctoral program as a Regular Admission student to hold an Assistantship. Students admitted on Probationary status may be eligible in limited cases, e.g. International students. Students admitted to a certificate program are not eligible
2. Must be lawfully present, be eligible to work in the United States, and pass all relevant background checks.
3. Must be enrolled in at least 6 Graduate coursework hours per semester.
4. Must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA (granted 1 semester probation if GPA falls below the 3.0 minimum)
5. Must make substantial progress toward degree completion by successfully completing 12 credits per year (6 credits per semester including summer if working as a GA during the summer). Graduate School funding will end upon the completion of 24 hours of thesis work or 4 years from the date of first hire, whichever comes first.
6. Graduate Assistants who are Instructors of Record for content area courses must have earned a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the discipline to be taught.
7. Graduate Assistants who are Instructors of Record for 1-hour lab, activity, or other applied courses and have fewer than 18 semester hours of graduate work in the discipline to be taught, must attend training for Graduate Assistant Instructors of Record and be supervised by an experienced, full-time faculty member. The Department assigning Graduate Assistants as Instructors of Record with fewer than 18 hours of graduate work in the discipline to be taught must complete the Justification and Documentation for Exception to SACSCOC Faculty Credentials Guidelines form at: https://www.valdosta.edu/administration/sacs/documents/course-justification.pdf and submit it to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness prior to the start of the semester.
8. All graduate assistants must have planned and periodic evaluations performed by their faculty supervisor and/or department head.
9. Prospective Graduate Assistants enrolled in the Georgia WebMBA® program are ineligible for a tuition waiver. While they may still hold an assistantship, Valdosta State University is unable to waive tuition to the Georgia WebMBA® program.

NOTE: Graduate Assistants are ineligible to hold a second GA position or any other position within the USG due to being restricted to one pay designation.

• Pay mandatory fees plus $38.00 of tuition by the established fee payment deadline each term.
• Provide proof of active health insurance coverage.
• Attend GA Orientation.
• Demonstrate satisfactory work performance. The supervisor will evaluate work performance at the end of the GA contractual period.
• Report all hours worked even if exceeding the 14 hours or 19 hours per week basis. Graduate Assistants may not exceed a total of 1,300 hours worked in a 12-month consecutive period. If the GA works beyond the 1,300 hours, s/he must sit out for the remainder of that calendar year.
• Unless otherwise noted in the GA contract, GAs work 16 weeks during the Fall and Spring semesters. The expectation is that GAs works 224 hours for a 14-hour per week and 304 hours for a 19-hour per week position during the course of the semester. If the GA position requires training, orientation, or other duties prior to the start of the semester, the GA would coordinate with their supervisor to flex their time during the course of the semester.
• Complete Compliance Training each year employed as a Graduate Assistant.
• Complete evaluation of the GA position/experience at the conclusion of the contractual term.
• A Graduate Assistant wishing to resign prior to the end of the contact must submit a letter of resignation to their GA supervisor and copy vsugradasst@valdosta.edu 
• Graduate Assistants who do not meet academic or performance standards may be terminated.
• Upon resignation or termination, the Graduate Assistant’s stipend will cease and s/he may be required to reimburse the University for tuition prorated based on the length of time remaining in the semester.
• Should a Graduate Assistant have an emergency that requires them to withdraw from all classes for the term i.e. hardship withdrawal, the stipend payments will cease but reimbursement of tuition will not be required. The GA should request the Dean of Students to send notice of such emergency to the Graduate Student Services Specialist in the Graduate School.
• Complete Evaluation of GA Position each academic year
• For more information, see the Graduate Assistant Handbook.

Students are encouraged to submit applications as soon as the GA application portal opens. How quickly an assistantship is awarded depends on how quickly departments act to fill vacancies (reviewing applications and interviewing applicants). The Graduate school works with faculty and staff in assistantship allocations, employment onboarding, and other graduate assistantship issues. For questions, contact us at  (229) 333-5694 or  vsugradasst@valdosta.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

VIEW AVAILABLE POSITIONS

You do not have to be admitted to a program to view available positions. Click HERE to view available Assistantships.

APPLY FOR A GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP

You cannot apply for a position until you are accepted as "Regular" or "Probationary" in an approved graduate degree or post-master's program at VSU. To apply for a position, log in to the portal using your BlazeView user name and password.

Find your BlazeView user name and password.

ASSISTANCE WITH THE APPLICATION PORTAL

What you'll see once you enter the application portal:

• Job Descriptions
• Job Requirements
• Salary
• Supervisor's Name and E-mail

If you do not see positions posted in the portal, it is because there are no available positions at this time.

Congratulations on your appointment as a Graduate Assistant!

The first step in the hiring process is for your supervisor to complete the Graduate Assistant Onboarding Request Form.
Once submitted, you will receive an email from Accurate Background Check Services with a link and directions on how to complete your portion of the background check.
Upon completion of your background check, you will receive an email from Equifax Compliance Center to complete the majority of your hiring paperwork.
You will then be contacted to come into the office with your I-9 identification to complete the Security Questionnaire and attend a brief employment orientation.
You will then receive your Appointment Form via DocuSign.

Before you can begin working as a Graduate Assistant, you must pass a Background Check and complete all paperwork. 

FAQs: Graduate Assistants

CURRENT GRADUATE ASSISTANTS

ONEUSG PORTAL

All GAs must set up their Direct Deposit via the OneUSG portal accessible from your MyVSU dashboard. Due to ACA regulations, GAs MUST record time worked in OneUSG. GAs may print pay information each month, print W-2s each year, and update tax information via the OneUSG portal.

Please see the Graduate Assistant Handbook for any additional information.

VSU’s graduate assistantships play an important role in the teaching/instruction, research, and service missions of the University and provide students with valuable professional experience while earning a graduate degree. A graduate assistantship involves the dual responsibilities of maintaining satisfactory academic performance and successfully performing the duties assigned by the supervisor. The following link provides information for graduate assistant supervisor responsibilities, the hiring process, and more:  https://www.valdosta.edu/academics/graduate-school/graduate-assistant-supervisors-information.php 

 Graduate Assistant Evaluation