Assistantships

III. CRITERIA OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANTSHIPS

The primary purpose of the assistantship program is to provide experience and financial support for worthy graduate students so that they may complete the requirements for M.A. and Ph.D. degrees and become more qualified and experienced as teachers. Other values include the help that assistants give the teacher to whom they are assigned and the very real value of their work to the undergraduates in their classes.

The number of assistantships available in any one year is a function of the enrollment in the courses in which assistants work and the financial position of the University divisions which support the program. M.A. candidates are usually offered only quarter-time appointments (25% assignment averaging 10 hours per week), while Ph.D. candidates are offered 25% appointments, 50% appointments (averaging 20 hours per week), or some percentage in between. Students who become Federal Work-Study qualified through the Financial Aid Office are much more likely to be awarded a half-time assistantship because of the reduced cost to the Department. A tuition waiver is included with either half- or quarter-time appointments. However, the student must pay the “fees” portion of the “tuition & fees” semester expense. “Fees” cover such things as student health insurance and the use of University facilities.

Typical workloads for philosophy graduates teaching their own courses have been as follows: 50% assignment entailed a class with a maximum enrollment of 50 students; 37.5% contract, for a class with a maximum enrollment of 37 students. For those students assisting instructors, with sections of 25 maximum enrollment, an assistant on a 50% contract would be responsible for four sections; an assistant on 37.5% contract, three sections; a 25% contract, two sections.

The Graduate Committee and the Department Chair will determine eligibility and selection based on what the Department regards as the primary value of the assistantships; the following guidelines will give graduate students a recognized set of criteria by which they can estimate their own chances for assistance.

A. Conditions of appointment – Each year the Graduate Committee will meet to rank all
eligible graduate applicants for the M.A. or Ph.D. programs on a competitive basis. Incoming graduate students who are recommended by the Graduate Committee for a
fellowship, but do not receive the fellowship, may be eligible to receive a graduate
assistantship. The Department Chair will decide whether the assistantship will be halfquarter-time or somewhere in between, based upon the Department’s assistantship
budget. Some graduate assistantship appointments are only for one semester (4.5 months), but initial graduate assistantship appointments are usually for 9 months of
support, Fall and Spring semester, each 4.5 months.

B. The Graduate Committee taking all indications of the student’s performance into
account makes a professional judgment that the applicant’s pursuit of the degree will be fruitful. Among the documents a consulted and facts noted in making this determination are the following:
1. at the Ph.D. level:
a. Letters of recommendation (no specific number required)
b. GPA
c. Performance on the comprehensive examination
d. A course paper submitted to the Graduate Committee
e. Breadth of professional accomplishments such as publications, conference papers and course work
f. Teaching performance (for previously assisted students–defined in D. below) or potential for good teaching for those not previously assisted
g. For previously assisted students, satisfactory progress (defined below in D. below) and completion of course work

2. at the M.A. level
For incoming Master’s candidates, selection of graduate assistants will be based on application materials. Beyond that, selection will be based on (a), (b), (e) and (g) above.

C. Limits on expected support – Once an assistantship has been awarded, the Department anticipates on the basis of past experience continued support with the following provisos:
1. M.A. students chosen for assistantship can receive no more than 24 months support at the M.A. level. Support is contingent on satisfactory progress as defined below (D).
2. Ph.D. students chosen for assistantship can expect 36 months, but can receive no more than 48 months of support. The 36/48 months of support for Ph.D. students is not limited by the support they received as a Master’s candidate. Support is contingent on satisfactory progress as defined below (D).
3. “Months of support” is not defined or limited by the percentage of assistance received by the student. In other words, a quarter-time, nine month assistantship counts the same as a half-time, nine month assistantship when meeting the months of support limitation.
4. Summer support will be included in the counting of months of Departmental funding. Students will be evaluated independently for an assistantship, upon entering the Ph.D. level. There is no automatic guarantee of support from the M.A. to the Ph.D. level.

D. Definition of satisfactory progress – Previously assisted students (i.e., those graduate students who are holding and have held assistantships or fellowships in the Department) who are making satisfactory progress toward their graduate degrees have first consideration on available assistantships. Satisfactory progress shall mean:
1. That the student has no outstanding “Incompletes” on their transcripts at the time of application . (An “Incomplete” is not deemed outstanding if the student has completed sufficient course work to satisfy degree requirements.)
2. That the student is expected to complete the M.A. degree at the end of the second year of graduate work (where the assistantship or fellowship begins with a person’s first year of graduate study). That history comps be attempted by the third semester and passed by the fourth semester of the Master’s program. (See II E above.)
3. That prelims are attempted and passed by the end of the third year and that a dissertation prospectus is approved by a dissertation committee by the end of the sixth semester of the Ph.D. program.
4. That the Graduate Committee taking all indications of the student’s performance into account has made a professional judgment that the student’s continued pursuit of the degree will be fruitful.

E. “Previously Assisted” and “New” applicants
1. If assistantships are still available after all “previously assisted” applicants have been considered for support, unsupported persons already in the program will be given consideration, along with new program applicants. In all cases, selections shall be made in accord with B above.
2. A limited number of University Fellowships are available to students in the Master’s and Doctoral programs. Those interested in applying for one of those Fellowships should contact the Director of Graduate Studies in the fall. GRE scores are required when applying for Fellowships. Doctoral level students are encouraged to apply for Graduate School
dissertation research awards during the year they are admitted to candidacy.

For information on Assistantships outside the Department, go to this page: http://www.siu.edu/gradschl/gaposting.htm