Assistantship Opportunities

Position: Graduate Writing Coordinator (Project Assistantship)
Department: Graduate School, Office of Professional Development (OPD)
Application Deadline: March 24, 2025

Job Description:

• Under the supervision of an Associate Director in the Office of Professional Development (OPD), develops and maintains workshops and programs to support graduate student writing, in collaboration with key campus partners.
• Leads or co-facilitates virtual and in-person workshops, under direction from the OPD Associate Director.
• Develops new workshops based on research-based best practices, and archives presentation materials for future OPD use.
• Coordinates and leads Dissertation Writing Retreats in collaboration with OPD Associate Director.
• Collaborates with campus partners (such as the libraries, Writing Center, etc.)
• Helps maintain participant and event databases.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Experience/Skills:

• Experience successfully teaching academic writing; experience working with multilingual writers preferred; outstanding English writing and editing skills. Preference given to those with experience with working with graduate students and/or formal training in the teaching of academic writing.
• Understanding of the challenges faced by graduate writers at UMass.
• Experience writing in various academic genres common in graduate school.
• Experience in event planning and program coordination preferred; ability to do thorough independent research and reporting; ability to multi-task.
• Good interpersonal communication skills for dealing with a diverse student population. Poise, confidence, and enthusiasm in presenting to groups of students and faculty.
• Comfortable working independently and as part of a team consisting of senior administrators, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students.
• Flexible schedule required – and a perk of the job! Please note that regular in-person work is required; this is not a fully remote position.
• Enrolled in a doctoral or MFA program at UMass Amherst

Dates of Appointment: begins Fall 2025 semester [with possibility of some work in summer 2025 – not required!]
Hours/Wk: 20                       
Stipend: GEO minimum 

How to Apply: Email a cover letter (1-2 pages) and CV or resume to the contact person below. In addition to addressing how your specific experiences/skills have prepared you for this position in your cover letter, please also mention one workshop that you would be interested in planning and presenting for fellow graduate student writers. 

Department Name: Graduate School, Office of Professional Development (OPD)
Contact Person: Dr. Johanna Yunker, OPD Associate Director
Email contact: jyunker@umass.edu

Please Note: Please feel free to reach out with any questions! However, to ensure equity in the search process, OPD cannot provide specific feedback on individual applications while the position is open.

The U.S. National Science Foundation Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science (NSF CBIKS) is seeking 2 graduate students for hourly positions starting in the summer or fall of 2025.

NSF CBIKS examines how to effectively and ethically braid Western and Indigenous science research, education, and practice related to the urgent and interconnected challenges of climate change, cultural places, and food security. These positions will support administrative functions of the center, including calendaring, meeting support, website edits, document formatting, spreadsheet edits, graphic design, file organization, email communication, event logistics, and notetaking.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in any field.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team; highly collaborative work style.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, including attention to detail and quality.
• Experience working in MS Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with Outlook, Teams, Sharepoint, Zoom, Miro, Canva.
• Experience organizing events.
• Experience tracking data, building spreadsheets, formatting documents.
• Experience in graphic design.
• Experience working with people from different backgrounds and cultures.

Hours: 10-20 hrs per week, minimum 2 days in office
Stipend: $36.67/hour
Application Deadline: April 11, 2025

To apply: Send CV and cover letter to cbiks@umass.edu.

Title: Graduate Assistant for Sorority & Fraternity Life
Department: Student Engagement and Leadership
Supervisor: Director of SFL and/or Designee
Weekly Hours: 20 hours per week
Stipend: GEO hourly rate, paid bi-weekly
Appointment Term: 8/17/25 - 05/23/26; specific dates subject to change

Periods of Non-Responsibility: Please submit requests for time off to supervisor in advance.

Appointment Renewal: Appointments are for the stated appointment term only and there is no guarantee of appointment renewal.

Student Affairs and Campus Life (SACL)
Student Affairs and Campus Life is committed to providing meaningful assistantship experiences for graduate students, particularly when these experiences enhance SACL priorities and are relevant to the pursuit of a graduate assistant’s professional goals. It is within this context that SACL makes this assistantship available.

General Summary of Position
Serve as advisor for the assigned council and assigned chapters in the Sorority and Fraternity Life within Student Engagement and Leadership (SEL). This assistantship provides an opportunity to gain experience and further professional development in student activities advising, communication, programming, and event management as well as fraternity/sorority development in a large, complex university setting. Reappointment is dependent on department need, experience, satisfactory performance, academic standing, and funding.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities
1. Serve as advisor for the assigned fraternity and sorority council and for the assigned chapters.
2. Assist with the advising and event management of the major program initiatives in the fraternity and sorority program (Homecoming, Greek Week, Greek Academy).
3. Advise assigned council and chapters on program development and event management.
4. Assist with the design and delivery of developmental programs/workshops for the fraternity and sorority program.
6. Work with national organizational staff and alumni advisors of sponsoring organizations.
7. Participate in planning and executing fraternity and sorority related events within SEL including First Week, Homecoming, UMass Night Out, GREEK Expo, NSOT, Greek Awards, The Sammies award ceremony, and others as needed.
8. Assist with coverage of weekend and evening events (event support).
9. Perform other related duties as assigned.

Compliance Requirements
Graduate students filling assistantships in Student Affairs and Campus Life have specific expectations placed on them as employees of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Among these is the requirement to fulfill reporting responsibilities as prescribed and required under applicable federal and State laws. These include but may not be limited to requirements under Title IX; Clery Act; FERPA; HIPPA; Massachusetts Conflict of Interest laws. Additionally, this applies to adhering to University policies and agreements (e.g., collective bargaining agreement).

Fulfilling these expectations includes addressing and reporting related violations by students, staff, faculty or others. Related training will be provided to all SACL graduate assistants. These expectations may be amended in conjunction with changes in Federal and/or State mandated reporting requirements, and/or University policies or agreements. Graduate students unwilling to meet these requirements are not eligible for appointment to a SACL graduate assistantship.

Minimum Required Qualifications
1. Enrollment as graduate student in good standing during entire term of appointment.
2. Eligibility for appointment to this assistantship, as determined by the Graduate School.
3. Availability to serve the entire assistantship term.
4. Willingness to perform all mandated compliance reporting and related requirements.
5. Experience in fraternity and sorority programming.
6. Ability to work with diverse student leaders and department staff
7. Graduate student in a degree program within an academic area related to job duties.
8. Ability and willingness to work evening and weekend hours as necessary.

Note: The SACL GA orientation is TBD (usually in late August).

Compensation and Benefits
Specific compensation and benefits accruing to graduate assistantships are informed by the collective bargaining agreement (“Contract”) with the Graduate Employees Organization (“GEO”) in force during the appointment period. All Graduate Assistants should review this agreement carefully for detailed explanations of compensation and benefits that may apply. Generally, however, Graduate Assistants receive:

1. A stipend based on the number of weekly hours allocated to the applicable assistantship;
2. Tuition and curriculum fee scholarship waiver (as provided in the GEO Contract);
3. Reduced fees for health coverage; and,
4. Vacation leave

Collective Bargaining Agreement
Graduate Assistants are employees of the University. Appointments to graduate assistantships must be approved in advance by the Graduate School. Employment matters are guided and informed by University policy and by provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (“Contract”) with the Graduate Employee Organization (“GEO”), a recognized employee union at the University. GEO is affiliated with the United Auto Workers.

To Apply
Email Ashiah Richeme-Alcide, arichemealci@umass.edu, stating your interest in this position with your resume attached. Please indicate "SFL Graduate Assistant Application" in the subject of your email. Deadline of Friday, March 28, 2025.

The GEO Contract can be found at:
http://www.umass.edu/gradschool/sites/default/files/GEO%20contract%2014-17%20vfsigned.pdf