Graduate Assistantships for M.A. Students

M.A. Graduate assistantships carry a stipend of around $10,000 per year (two semesters) and a tuition waiver (not including student fees) for 9 hours each semester.

Students with assistantships:

must enroll in and successfully complete nine credit hours of course work each semester;

are expected to work about 20 hours each week.

Students with assistantships typically serve as teaching assistants to faculty members teaching large-enrollment courses. Depending upon department needs, students in their third and/or fourth semester of assistantship might be assigned to independently teach one course (typically Social Problems or Introduction to Sociology). If available, such assignments will be offered to students who (a) have at least 18 credit hours in graduate Sociology classes, (b) did exemplary work in the Teaching Sociology course and (c) are making excellent progress through the M.A. program.

must take the Teaching Sociology course (taught in Spring semesters). Advisors will determine whether a student should enroll in this course during the first or second year of study;

should attend workshops offered by the Center for Teaching Excellence (www.C21te.usf.edu)

should be active members of the Sociology department graduate student community;

Note: Assistantships awarded to students entering the M.A. program from outside the state of Florida require that students apply at the Office of the Registrar for Florida residency immediately upon entering the program

Applying for an Assistantship:

Send with the application for admission a short essay describing why you wish to be considered for an Assistantship as well as a description of how the assistantship will affect your ability to progress through the M.A. program in a timely manner.

Award criteria for new assistantships:

Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. The criteria for being awarded a first-year assistantship is the same as the criteria for entry into the program (GRE, GPA, letters of recommendation, writing sample).

Award criteria for continuing assistantships:

Decisions about renewing graduate assistantships for a second year will be made by the Graduate Committee the end of March. Barring budgetary shortfalls, students with a first year assistantship will be awarded a second year of assistantship providing there is

adequate progress being made through the M.A. program, including evidence that the thesis project is advancing in a timely manner. It is expected that students applying for a second-year assistantship will sucessfully defend their thesis proposals by the end of May.

            The Sociology Graduate Committee will meet at the end of May to
            discuss the progress of all funded graduate students who are
            applying for a second year of funding. Depending on
            the circumstances, committee members can decide at that time to not
            renew an assistantship or to renew it for only the first semester of
            the second year.

evidence of responsibility in the first year assistantship.