Art Appointment Procedures

Department of Art Appointment and Reappointment Procedures for Teaching Assistants in the MFA, MS Design and MArch Programs

General Statement of Eligibility

All graduate students enrolled in the MFA, MS Design, or MArch programs, as well as students accepted for graduate study in these programs, are eligible for TA positions in the Department of Art, Architecture, and Art History.

Procedures

The MFA, MS Design and MArch programs in the Department of Art have made every effort to offer assistantships to as many graduate students as possible. The goal -- dependent on the university and college budget -- has been to offer suitable assistantships for all incoming students, and to maintain that funding for a total of three years. Indeed, the Department holds down the number of graduate students admitted so that we do not create a large cadre of students who are unfunded.

In the spring, the Graduate Program Director ascertains which 1st and 2nd year students will be returning and are requesting assistantships. The Department provides assistantships to returning students who have already held assistantships (and who are in good standing and fulfilled their assistantship obligations) before offering assistantships to entering graduate students. Students are notified by June whether or not they will have assistantships in the fall; specific assignments to courses are made a month later.

Specific Criteria

Appointment decisions are made on the basis of each student’s progress in the program as well as his/her qualifications to teach the specific courses in question.

In considering students for assistantships the faculty take into consideration the following factors:

--the applicant’s stage in the program
--the applicant’s academic standing, lack of incompletes, and progress toward their degree
--the applicant’s qualifications for assisting in the specific course

For students accepted but not yet enrolled, the faculty takes into consideration the following:
--materials in the student’s application file, including academic transcripts and letters of recommendation
--the student’s qualifications for assisting with the specific course

Terms of Appointment

MFA, MS Design, and MArch students holding assistantships are required to:
--fulfill their assistantship duties satisfactorily
--maintain good academic standing
--make satisfactory progress toward the completion of degree requirements

These terms are contingent on funding and apply only to regular assistantships, not to one-time assistantships funded by grant money or other irregular funding sources.

Max Page, Graduate Program Director, September 2006