I.S.U : LLL : Graduate Assistantship

Amount of Graduate Assistant Stipend and Expected Duties

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available on a competitive basis to qualified graduate students enrolled in one of the master's degree programs in the Department. In the past, assistantships have been awarded predominantly to graduate students who were able to teach one of the languages of instruction in the Department, in particular Spanish, French, or Japanese . Assistants receive a modest stipend, but tuition or half-tuition waiver scholarships cover much of the cost of tuition and fees (see section on Tuition and Fee Waiver Scholarships below) and the cost of living in Terre Haute is relatively low.

It is normally expected that graduate assistants will teach two 3-credit hour sections of a beginning-level (or, rarely intermediate-level) language class within the Department, although on occasion assistants may instead assume other duties within the Department totaling 20 hours of work per week.

Stipulations

Students must have completed requirements for the baccalaureate degree, be accepted into a master's degree program in the Department (although acceptance into another ISU program is possible in rare instances), and must be enrolled for at least 9 credit hours--6 credit hours if teaching 2 courses-- and for no more than 12 credit hours per semester. The standard credit-hour load for graduate assistants in the Department is 9 hours per semester. Assistantships are not awarded for more than 4 semesters.

Standards for Appointment

a. An overall undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 or higher on a 4.00 scale from a regionally accredited institution, or
b. A graduate grade point average of 3.60 or higher on a 4.0 scale after completion of at least 12 hours of graduate course work from a regionally accredited institution.
A graduate grade point average of 3.00 or higher on a 4.00 scale must be maintained.

Tuition and Fee Waiver Scholarships

In addition to their stipend, graduate assistants generally also receive a graduate tuition waiver scholarship which covers the cost of most but not all tuition and fee costs. Contact the Department for more details LLL@indstate.edu.

Note: Tuition waiver scholarships often are awarded for a total of 21 credit hours for the academic year, so that students who have enrolled for 9 credit hours per semester during the fall and spring are eligible to receive a fee waiver for an additional three hours of graduate study during the summer session.

Application Process for Graduate Assistantship and Tuition and Fee Waiver Scholarship

Students wishing to apply for a graduate assistantship or tuition and fee waiver scholarship must complete and sign an Application for Graduate Assistant Appointment Form or an Application for Graduate Scholarship form and mail these to the Department (for the Department's mailing address, see our Home Page.) Applicants are urged to submit all application materials to the Department as early as possible, but certainly by April 1. Later applications will be accepted but can only be considered as need allows.

To download a copy of the Application Forms , click here.

Alternate Sources of Financial Assistance

Additional opportunities for financial aid to graduate students are discussed under the section on “Financial Information” in the Graduate Catalog . A modest amount of employment is also often available to students on the ISU campus, although the availability of such employment is not guaranteed and is subject to certain constraints. Students should contact the School of Graduate Studies in the event of questions regarding stipulations on the employment of graduate students.

Additional information

Additional information regarding assistantships and tuition and fee waiver scholarships is available in the section on “Financial Information” in the Graduate Catalog and also at the School of Graduate Studies web site.