Oct 09, 2024  
2015-2017 Graduate Catalog 
    
2015-2017 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Graduate Assistantships


 

 

  

Graduate Assistantships

 

The Oakland University Assistantship programs provide students an opportunity to gain professional experiences, which enhance graduate instruction and research, while contributing financial assistance to the successful completion of a graduate degree. Oakland University budgets financial resources for a number of graduate assistantships that are made available to full-time, degree-seeking graduate students.
 

 

Assistantship structure and definition

All graduate assistantships have a service obligation for which the student receives a stipend. Stipends vary according to program and degree level (doctoral and master’s). Graduate assistantships are for the 15-week semester or the academic year and are either a full-time appointment, which requires 20 hours per week service obligation, OR a half-time appointment, which requires 10 hours per week service obligation.

An accompanying tuition reduction, which has no service obligation, is awarded to the student for graduate coursework.

Assistantship tuition reduction

Tuition reductions are equal to the full amount of tuition (excluding any special charges) for each semester during the term of the appointment, up to the maximum number of credits per semester identified in the signed agreement. All graduate students holding an assistantship or fellowship awarded through Oakland University are charged in-state rates during the awarded enrollment period.

  1. A tuition reduction is provided for graduate courses or research that contributes directly to the satisfaction of degree requirements.
  2. In circumstances where undergraduate courses are substituted on an approved Plan of Study, no more than 12 credits will be allowed per graduate policy.
  3. Each semester a tuition reduction will be credited to the student’s account according to the percentage of the assistantship: 8 credit tuition reduction = full-time offer 4 credit tuition reduction = half-time offer
  4. Any tuition reduction benefits (credits), which are not used during the term in which the student holds the appointment are lost.
  5. Assistantship agreements are subject to cancellation if the student does not meet the minimum enrollment requirement.

Assistantship administration

Graduate Assistants (GA) at Oakland University are under the direct supervision of the department, program, or unit that offers the appointment. The department determines the GA assignment, supervises his or her work, and recommends him or her for reappointment and promotion to various compensation levels. The department is the primary source of information for the details of the assistantship. Within the academic or non-academic unit, the GA work assignment is determined by the faculty member or director assigned to supervise the GA’s particular course, laboratory session, or research project.

Assistantship eligibility and requirements

To be awarded an assistantship, the following are required:

  1. Students must have full standing admission status to a specific graduate degree program.
  2. Students with a limited standing admission status may be considered for an appointment if the conditional requirements can be met within the first semester of the award enrollment period. An assistantship award will be terminated should the conditional requirements not be satisfied.
  3. Students must be in good academic standing.
  4. All students with graduate assistantships are expected to maintain a full-time enrollment status at Oakland University during the semester(s) for which they are appointed.
  5. Graduate Assistants must maintain an overall grade-point average of 3.0 AND show satisfactory progress toward completing degree requirements.
  6. Students may not hold other employment positions during the term of appointment, either at Oakland or elsewhere, without prior written permission from their adviser and Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning.

Application for graduate assistantships

Applications for a graduate assistantship are obtained and submitted to the college, school, department or nonacademic unit where employment is preferred. Areas with work opportunities available will provide an applicant with an application form specific to that area.

The Graduate Assistantship Interest form is a convenient way of notifying academic departments of your interest in receiving an assistantship. Although graduate assistantships may be awarded without submission of this form, the information on this form provides academic departments pertinent details often associated with review of assistantship awards.

Eligible graduate students should send their completed copy of the form to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning, 520 O’Dowd Hall, 2200 North Squirrel Road, Rochester, MI 48309-4401.  

Graduate assistantship time limit policy

Graduate Assistantship positions, funded by Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning, are limited to two years for master’s degree students and four years for doctoral students. If units wish to continue supporting a student beyond this time, it requires position funding from the school or college.

Council of Graduate Schools resolution

Oakland University subscribes to the Resolution adopted by the Council of Graduate Schools which, among other provisions, states students are under no obligation to respond to assistantship offers prior to April 15. In those instances in which the student accepts the offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15.

An acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept an offer from another institution. In order to accept an assistantship offer at another institution after April 15, prospective graduate assistants must first obtain a written release from any other institution to which a previous commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer.

 Scholarships

 


Bennett Scholarship in Chemistry

Extremely well-qualified students are invited to apply to the Department of Chemistry for consideration for the Bennett Scholarship in Chemistry. Awards will be granted to full-time students whose undergraduate records not only give evidence of exceptional past academic achievement, but promise future high accomplishment as well. All decisions will be based on a student’s complete record, including grades, courses taken, test scores, letters of recommendation and a personal interview.

Steven and Leah Vartanian Endowment Scholarship

Graduate students who may be physically challenged and confined to a wheelchair may apply to the Steven R. and Leah P. Vartanian Endowment Scholarship fund for financial assistance. Applicants for admission to Oakland University who wish to be considered for this scholarship should file a scholarship application with Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning prior to June 30. 

Fellowships

 


King/Chavez/Parks Future Faculty Fellowship Program

The King-Chavez-Parks Future Faculty Fellowship Program (KCP) was designed to increase the pool of traditionally underrepresented candidates pursuing faculty teaching careers in postsecondary education. We encourage applications from minorities, women, people with disabilities and individuals with cultural, linguistic, geographic and socio-economic backgrounds who would otherwise not adequately be represented in the graduate student and faculty populations. Preference will not be given to applicants on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, sex, or national origin. Future Faculty Fellowship graduates are obligated to teach in a postsecondary institution or administration for three years.

Federal Traineeship Grants

The School of Nursing applies each year for Federal Traineeship Grants. Funds for the traineeship come from the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The purpose is to support traineeships for licensed registered nurses enrolled as full-time graduate students, first-year Nurse Anesthesia students, part-time students in the last 12 months of their program, or full-time students beyond the twelfth month of study in a master’s nurse anesthesia program.

Financial assistance

Additional financial aid available to graduate students includes Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Federal Work-Study employment, and short-term loans. Please visit Financial Aid for detailed information on financial aid processing and programs.