Graduate Assistantships

A variety of departments at the Robinson College of Business (RCB) offer graduate assistantships to graduate students. Availability is on a minimal basis. However, many post in June/July as we near the start of the fall semester. Graduate assistantship applications may not be submitted until acceptance to a graduate program has been granted.

To apply for a Graduate Assistantship, you will need to register and submit a resumé via Handshake.

To obtain Handshake access, you will need to accept your admission offer and submit your non-refundable $250 deposit for the program you would like to join. You may apply for any RCB Graduate Assistantship position that is posted.

Check out our step-by-step guide below for helpful tips and tricks on how to apply.

To ensure timely progress toward completion of their degree, master's students holding graduate assistantships must register for a minimum of nine credit hours of academic coursework required by their major during the fall and/or spring semesters and a minimum of six credit hours of academic coursework required by their major during the May/summer semester during which an assistantship is held. International students are required to register for a minimum of nine credit hours of academic coursework to meet visa requirements. They should check with International Student Scholar Services about registration and requirements for summer semester.

Master's and doctoral students must maintain satisfactory academic standing during the period(s) of their appointment including having a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Registering for less than the required minimum credit hours of academic coursework and/or having a GPA below 3.0 will result in loss of an assistantship.

All graduate assistants, including international students currently holding a J-1 or F-1 VISA, must have a U.S. social security number in order to be considered for a graduate assistantship position. International students who do not have a U.S. social security number should request a commitment to employment letter from their hiring department once they’ve been awarded an assistantship. Please take this letter to a local Social Security Administration office to complete an application for a U.S. social security number.

Robinson graduate assistants receive tuition waivers. However, they still must pay for items such as registration fees, mandatory student fees and health insurance fees. Nonpayment of applicable fees will result in cancellation of course registrations, and loss of the assistantship and tuition waiver. For a complete breakdown of costs, visit the student financial services website »

Tuition waivers from a graduate assistantship applied to cohort programs cover only the cost of the in state per credit hour tuition rate of $511. Students are responsible for the remaining tuition and fees associated with those programs.

After receiving a tuition waiver for a graduate assistantship, contact our office: Office of Graduate Student Financial Services at [email protected] or 404-413-7086

Georgia State University awards tuition waivers* based on the total amount earned on assistantships per semester, not on the amount that is paid for each appointment. Under the university's guidelines, graduate assistants will receive tuition waivers as follows:

Many departments offer GA appointments of $1,000 for the fall and/or spring semester and/or $500 for the May/summer semester resulting in a half waiver for the student. Students will often seek out additional/multiple appointments to increase their semester stipend resulting in a full waiver. This can be done by simultaneously engaging in various assistantship appointments within other departments of the Robinson College of Business, or with other departments across the university.

*Tuition waivers from a graduate assistantship applied to cohort programs cover only the cost of the in state per credit hour tuition rate of $511. Students are responsible for the remaining tuition and fees associated with those programs.

Graduate assistants receiving full tuition waivers are required to have full health insurance coverage. The University System of Georgia contracts with third parties to provide student health insurance at a reduced premium.

The health insurance premium paid during spring semester covers January 1–July 31; it covers graduate assistants for spring and May/summer semesters. Students who receive their first graduate assistantship during May/summer semester will be charged a pro-rated (reduced) health insurance premium for that period. There is usually an increase in health insurance premiums each fall semester.

You have the option to purchase health insurance from an outside agency. If you are already covered under another health insurance plan, you may waive out of the plan that will be automatically assigned to you once your full tuition waiver is applied by going to Georgia State's Student Financial Services website »

Each semester, graduate assistants receive a flat rate stipend for each appointment they receive. Each appointment is equivalent to eight hours of work per week.

Graduate assistant stipends are paid in four equal installments during the semester:

Fall

Last business day of September, October, November and December

Spring

Last business day of January, February, March and April

Maymester

Last business day of May

Six- and seven-week summer session

Last business day of June and July

Within three days of receiving notification of an appointment, students must immediately complete the Graduate Assistant Hiring Packet in Georgia State's Office of Human Resources (One Park Place South, third floor). Failure to do so will delay stipend payments.

Average stipend ranges per appointment, per term are as follows:

Total stipends for graduate assistants should not exceed $12,000 per semester and cannot exceed $36,000 per academic year.

Graduate assistants who are students within the Robinson College of Business and receive full tuition waivers are registered for the college-wide graduate assistantship evaluation courses BA 8510 and/or BA 9510. Robinson's graduate assistantship coordinator will apply appropriate evaluation credit hours to the student’s registration. Since the students receive full tuition waivers, they will not be charged for these evaluation hours. These credit hours should not be deleted, and the student should not withdraw from the course. The credit hours may be adjusted to accommodate additional course registration by sending an email to “Reduce the hours listed for BA 8510/9510” to [email protected].

To be rehired as a graduate assistant, an overall satisfactory evaluation is required. The faculty member for whom the student worked during the semester submits a grade of either "S" for satisfactory or "U" for unsatisfactory. Future hire is prohibited for students who receive an unsatisfactory evaluation for two consecutive semesters.

Georgia State abides by the Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) requirements. All Robinson graduate students and post-doctoral fellows engaged in empirical research activities at Georgia State are required to undertake RCR training as part of their requirement for graduation and employment. Research activities may include research that leads to contributions to knowledge that will be disseminated to scientific and artistic communities through publicly accessible formats such as journals, books, magazines, working papers, etc. Graduate assistants who have not previously completed RCR requirements will need to complete training in order to be in compliance with the university’s regulations.

How to Obtain RCR Training

Two steps must be fulfilled:

CITI Training

Students must take the online basic level of training and submit the completion form to the Ph.D. program office (35 Broad St., room 831). Students should include their Panther ID number on the form.

RCR Training

Students must take a five-hour mandatory discussion session. In order to register, students must email [email protected] to be added to the list.

Your graduate research assistantship application will be accessible by the following departments in the Robinson College of Business:

• Georgia State Graduate Assistant Policy

If you have additional questions or need assistance contact [email protected].

Please do not send applications to this email address, follow the above directions to register and and submit a resumé via Handshake.