Read this page before filling out the application. The link to the application is found at the bottom of this page.
Graduate Assistantship Information
Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies
For more detailed information about graduate assistantships go to: http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies
Qualifications:
- Accepted (non-provisional) into a graduate program (M.S. or Ph.D.) in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies (CYAF)
- Registered as a full-time student (minimum of nine-credit hours) throughout the semester's assistantship is requested.
- Returning graduate assistants must have satisfactory performance as a graduate assistant, and timely progress toward degree.
Funding for Graduate Assistantships
Funding for graduate assistantships comes either from state appropriations or other sources such as grant funding. The source of the funding, in part, determines the duties, responsibilities and expected outcomes of the graduate assistantship. The number of graduate assistantships is dependent upon internal and external funding the department receives, and may vary annually. Stipends are established annually.
How CYAF Graduate Assistantships are Awarded
Graduate assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. New students may be evaluated on undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, GRE scores, and fit with departmental needs. Returning students may be evaluated on performance in course work and progress towards degree, performance as a graduate assistant, and other materials deemed relevant. Assistantships are generally awarded for a nine-month basis (academic year), but some assistantships may be awarded for 12 months or semester only.
Graduate students in a master’s program may receive funding for no more than two years. Graduate students in the Ph.D. program and who have already earned a master’s degree may receive funding for no more than three years. Graduate students who enter a CYAF master’s program and subsequently enter a CYAF Ph.D. program may receive funding for up to five years. Assistantships funded by a funding source other than the Department do not count towards the above limits.
Application Process and Deadline
Graduate assistantship applications are required as part of your application to an on campus CYAF degree program. If you are enrolled in a CYAF online degree program and are interested in an assistantship, please complete the assistantship application and mark the appropriate box indicating your interest.
If you are not interested in a graduate assistantship, please mark the appropriate box at the beginning of the graduate assistantship application.
Graduate students must submit a new application every year to be considered for a graduate assistantship. Assistantships are not automatically renewable unless the letter of offer states otherwise.
Applications received before February 1 will be given priority.
Terms of Employment
Work will begin the Monday prior to the start of classes each semester, and continue weekly (including Fall and Spring Break weeks) through the full week after final exams, unless stated differently in the letter of offer. A schedule of specific work hours will be arranged each semester with the assigned faculty advisor(s) and with consideration given to the student’s schedule of classes. Graduate assistants do not earn vacation or sick leave, so it is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements to make up the work hours missed. Graduate assistants must live in the Lincoln and Omaha areas and be able to come to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus on a regular basis.
Students who receive graduate assistantships are not permitted to hold other employment unless such, in combination with their assistantship, does not exceed a total of 20 hours per week.
Benefits
(The Graduate Studies Bulletin provides a details explanation of benefits and requirements.)
Graduate assistants receive a monthly stipend for the duration of the assistantship. The actual amount of the stipend may vary depending on the type of assistantship, funding source, and academic standing of the student. Tuition remission of up to 12 credit hours per semester is provided as a benefit for students making a minimum annual graduate assistantship salary. The tuition remission may be used for graduate courses taken at UNK, UNO, or UNMC. Students are responsible for applied fees each semester.
Assistantships awarded to students in a program with differential tuition (e.g., Great Plains IDEA master’s programs, Human and Family Services Administration) will be provided tuition remission up to the current UNL graduate tuition rate for these programs are set at a flat rate regardless of resident status. The student will be responsible for the balance of the tuition and fees for these courses.
Graduate assistants are provided basic individual student health insurance coverage at a reduced cost to the student. The student health insurance plan covers accidents and illnesses up to a maximum of $250,000 per policy year. Graduate assistants may waive the health insurance (http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/current/health).
Summer tuition (6 or 12 credit hours) is waived if the graduate assistantship stipend for fall and spring semester (August 1- May 31) equals the minimum amount specified by the Office of Graduate Studies. The graduate assistantship letter will clearly state whether or not the student will receive summer tuition waiver.
If a student resigns or terminates that assistantship during the semester before 4 full months of service have been completed, all tuition benefits will be lost. The student is then responsible for paying the total tuition cost and health insurance premium.
Types of CYAF Graduate Assistantship Assignments
In the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies graduate assistants may be assigned to work with 1 or 2 faculty members, and the type of assignments will vary based upon the faculty members’ needs and current projects. At the beginning of each semester the graduate assistant will meet with the faculty member who will develop a work plan. Responsibilities may include one or more of the graduate assistantship types listed below.
Teaching Assistant (Instructor of Record) – Teaching regularly scheduled course (may meet in the classroom or be online), grading, preparation and office hours. Some may be supervisor undergraduate student teachers at off-site locations, grading, preparation and office hours. Teaching assistantships are awarded to doctoral students. The Department Chair, in conjunction with the faculty member who teaches the course and the student’s program advisor, selects the teaching assistant. Teaching assistants may have a second assignment.
Teaching Assistant – assist with classes and/or study groups, grading, preparation, course development, Blackboard, and/or other tasks and duties as assigned.
Research Assistant – assist with specific research projects under the direction of a faculty member.
Ruth Staples Child Development Laboratory (CDL) – planning, implementing, and evaluating activities for young children under the supervision of the CDL Director and Lecturers. Provide feedback to student teachers as necessary. Requirement: must be in Lincoln daily to work onsite, and work a set schedule.
Family Resource Center (FRC) – This is awarded to a Marriage and Family Therapy master’s student selected by the Marriage and Family Therapy faculty. The student will serve as the coordinator of the FRC. Requirement: must be able to work onsite.
Combination - may involve assisting a faculty member as a teaching assistant and research assistant.
Assignment Notification
Students receiving a grant funded, Ruth Staples Child Development Laboratory, or Family Resource Center graduate assistantship will have the name of the project and the faculty member(s) he/she will be working with included in the letter of offer.
Students receiving a state funded (department) graduate assistantship will receive an e-mail about three weeks before the start of the semester stating which faculty member(s) he/she will be working and the faculty member(s) contact information.
International Students
All international graduate students who wish to be employed as teaching assistants at UNL must attend the International Teaching Assistant Institute. The summer institute, a concentrated 90-hour program, is held the last week of July and the first week in August. Contact the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies’ Graduate Chair for more information.
Summer Graduate Assistantships
CYAF offers a limited number of summer teaching assistantships which are awarded by the Department Chair. Individual faculty members may hire graduate assistants to assist with research. No application is required for summer assistantships.