Departmental Funding

Appointment and reappointment procedures for all graduate student employees within the Department of Sociology will be guided by the Graduate Employee Organization Contract.

Graduate Students are guaranteed five years of funding through the department. This funding must be used within seven years of admission.

Project Assistantships and Research Assistantships count toward these five years of funding. Other forms of employment will not count against a student's 5-year funding offer. This includes jobs such as: a non-research-oriented Project Assistantship (PA) for a faculty member in Sociology or another department, a TA or TO for another department, campus service jobs, non-research orientated administrative jobs, and teaching at another college or university.

Student-initiated fellowships (e.g., NSF) will be exempt from the time limitation. They will extend funding eligibility by the number of years the student holds the fellowship.

For additional funding information, visit our Funding Opportunities page.

Assistantships (TAs & TOs)

Teaching Assistantships

Specific duties will vary from course to course, but may include grading exams, grading assignments, attending class, helping with AV equipment and setup, maintaining MOODLE or other course websites, maintaining a grade book, responding to student and instructor emails in a timely fashion, proctoring exams, and making accommodations for documented disabilities. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Specific duties should be described in writing by the course instructor and provided to the TA at the beginning of the semester.

A 20-Hour/Week TA/grader appointment must conform to the following:

Total semester work hours cannot exceed 380.
Weekly work hours should average 20-hours weekly across the semester (meaning weeks with higher levels of work need to be offset by weeks with lower levels of work hours).
A TA cannot be required to work longer than 10-hours in any given day, or more than 40-hours in any given week.

A 10-Hour/week TA/grader appointment must conform to the following:

Total semester work hours cannot exceed 190.
Weekly work hours should average 10-hours weekly across the semester (meaning weeks with higher levels of work need to be offset by weeks with lower levels of work hours).
A TA cannot be required to work longer than 10-hours in any given day, or more than 20 hours in any given week.

TAs will be in residence from the first day of classes until the last day of final exams week, unless alternate arrangements are made in writing and authorized by the course instructor.

TAs are required to attend TA orientation before their first TA appointment. TAs must hold regular office hours and attend meetings with course instructors as scheduled.

Teaching Officials

TOs will prepare a full-semester syllabus that includes a course description; TO office hours, location, and contact information; course meeting times and location; required readings and materials; course requirements related to exams, assignments, and attendance; course policies related to grading, missed or late assignments, and participation; a schedule of topics and readings, exam dates, and other deadlines; a statement regarding academic honesty; and as appropriate to the course, statements regarding Gen Ed designations. The Center for Teaching & Learning provides support on how to create an inclusive syllabus design.

TOs will meet and instruct their classes on campus as scheduled or provide for a substitute in exceptional cases as needed. Any regular deviation from classroom instruction (such as online class meetings, instructor substitutions, or cancellations) must be approved in writing from the Department Chair.

TOs will provide timely feedback to students on assignments and exams (ideally within 2 weeks of the students’ deadline) and inform students of their grading schedules.

TOs will make necessary accommodations for students with documented disabilities.

TOs will submit grades to the registrar, within the deadline set by the registrar, at the end of the semester.

Number of Hours of Work Required:

Total semester work hours cannot exceed 380.

Weekly work hours should average 20 hours weekly across the semester (meaning weeks with higher levels of work hours need to be offset by weeks with lower levels of work hours).

A TO cannot be required to work longer than 10 hours in any given day, or more than 40 hours in any given week.

The only exception to the above limits is when TO responsibilities require them to participate in field work/off-campus travel.

First-time TOs are required to identify a teaching mentor among the faculty who will give them feedback on the syllabus, will visit and observe one or two classes and provide feedback, and who is available to talk about teaching issues as they rise.

TOs are required to take the graduate seminar "Teaching Sociology" prior to teaching their own course.

Project and Research Assistantships (PA & RA)

Research Assistantships

Research Assistantships are GEO benefitted positions that can be completed during any time of the year (academic semester, winter session, or summer session). 20-hour per week research assistantships of any kind during the academic semesters (both in the department or outside of the department) count as one allocation

Faculty will advertise available research assistantship opportunities to the SocGrad listserv.

Project Assistantships

A Project Assistant (PA) is similar to a Research Assistant, but a PA is a graduate student who performs work primarily for the benefit of the University, faculty or academic staff supervisor, and secondarily for the graduate student's own research. Similar to an RA, a PA must do work related to academic research.

Faculty will advertise available research assistantship opportunities to the SocGrad listserv.