To be appointed, retain an appointment, or be reappointed, a student must hold Regular (not Provisional) status, must maintain a cumulative average of at least “B” (3.00) in any course work taken, must be eligible to register (that is, must not have more than three viable grades of Incomplete on their academic record), must be enrolled in a graduate degree program scheduled to extend through the entire period of the appointment or reappointment, and must be a full-time student. Full-time for GAs is enrollment in six credits (full-time for non-GAs is nine credits).

Please note, official notification of acceptance to a program is issued by The Graduate School, not the program. The GA offer letter templates include an additional clause to be used with prospective students who have not yet received official notification of acceptance from The Graduate School's Graduate Admissions Team. An offer of an assistantship does not automatically imply acceptance to The Graduate School. 

Administration of all assistantships occurs through the academic department or unit of employment. Typically, payroll authorizations should be processed by the academic home department, even when the GA will be solely employed by a unit other than their academic home department. The University defines Graduate Assistants as graduate students "who provide teaching or research support to the University that is a part of [their] academic program." We require that the academic home department initiate payroll authorizations as evidence that the assistantship can be regarded as part of a GA’s academic program. The University’s definition of a GA is intended to align with Federal Tax Code regulations that allow GAs to receive their tuition waivers tax-free. If a department is hiring a GA from another academic department, the hiring department should communicate with the academic home department before issuing the offer letter to the GA. A breakdown of responsibilities between the academic home and hiring unit in these instances can be found on the resource page, Appointing a Graduate Assistant in a Non-Academic Unit.  

While most GAs are appointed by their academic home department, there are some non-academic units that also hire GAs. The information on the Appointing a Graduate Assistant in a Non-Academic Unit page is intended to guide non-academic units through the GA recruitment and hiring process. 

Assistantships, Fellowships, and Other Aid 

Assistantships, Fellowships, & Internships Defined

Guideline for the Employment of Graduate Students

UConn's English Proficiency Policy for TAs and Testing Procedures 

All international students who will be employed as Teaching Assistants (TAs) must provide certification of English proficiency, as outlined in UConn's English Proficiency Policy for TAs and Testing Procedures, even if the requirement to provide English-language proficiency was waived as an admission requirement. The student is responsible for obtaining certification in a timely manner. The hiring department is responsible for reviewing the certification in Student Admin before employing the student in an instructional role. If the student will be providing teaching support (for example, grading) but will not have direct instructional contact with students, the hiring department can request an override for the payroll transaction from The Graduate School. Detailed information on graduate payroll, such as how to request overrides, and international teaching assistants, including how departments can verify test scores, can be found in the resources from previous Timely Topics sessions. 

International students who are admitted for the spring term may need to show one year's proof of funding to receive their I-20. In collaboration with the Center for International Students & Scholars (CISS) and Employee Relations, The Graduate School developed a letter template for departments to use to confirm a calendar year of GA support, which the student may show when applying for their I-20. The department will also need to provide a spring GA offer letter using the standard template for GA offers available on HR's website along with this letter. Then, closer to the fall semester, departments should issue a fall GA offer letter using the standard template. Please reach out to megan.petsa@uconn.edu with any questions about this template.