Graduate assistantships at Penn State are designed to support students' academic progress while providing professional development through teaching, research, or administrative roles. These appointments include a stipend, tuition remission, and health insurance subsidy. Students are competively selected for assistantships at the time of admission to the program. 

When possible, assistantships are aligned with the student’s field of study. These roles often involve close mentoring and regular interaction with faculty supervisors. Eligibility requires admission as a degree-seeking student enrolled in residence and registration for a minimum number of credits.

Select BSN to PhD are provided with up to five years of funding. Select MSN to PhD are provided with up to four years of funding. Continued funding is contingent upon such things as availability, grades, and assistantship evaluations. 

For full details, students should refer to the official policy: GSAD-901 Graduate Assistants

Procedures: 

P1 - Graduate Assistants - Procedure

P2 - Graduate Assistantships with IUGs, Internships, or Outside Employment

P3 - Remote Graduate Assistantship (GA) Procedure  - All remote GA requets must be submitted to the Fox Graduate School at least three weeks before the intended start of the remote GA to allow time for regulatory review. 

Graduate students receiving Graduate Assistantships (GAs) and engaging in activity outside of the Graduate Assistantship (P2 - Graduate Assistantships with IUGs, Internships, and Outside Employment).

Penn State provides guidance for faculty relating to time spent on consulting practices. A parallel guideline has been deemed appropriate for students funded with TA and/or RA monies during their graduate education, both to be consistent with university policy and for the benefit of our students.

Graduate assistantships (GAs) are provided to degree-seeking students enrolled in the Graduate School as aids to completion of their advanced degrees. The Graduate School recognizes that within that context, there are situations in which a student is engaged in activities in addition to studies for their graduate degree and where it is still very appropriate to offer the student a GA.

To ensure that all graduate students understand the opportunities for engaging in in these complimentary activities while receiving a GA (and the relevant limitations), the Graduate School has posted guidance on GAs and i) outside employment, ii) internships, and iii) when the student is pursuing an IUG.  Note that these guidelines do not represent a new approach to these situations, but simply document and clarify our long-standing approach to these situations.

Outside Work – As defined in GSAD-901 Graduate Assistants: “A graduate assistant may accept concurrent employment outside the University only with prior permission from the head of the unit providing the assistantship and the head of the student’s graduate program, with the primary considerations being that the additional hours do not compromise the student’s academic progress, or their assistantship responsibilities.” The Graduate School recognizes that there can be times when outside employment for a student supported on a graduate assistantship can be important.

• Requests for students appointed to assistantships to be approved for simultaneous outside employment up to 5 hours per week will be considered when the student is supported on a ½- or ¾-time assistantship. Given the expectation of 20 or 30 hours of effort devoted to the assistantship-required activities per week for students supported on a ½- or ¾-time assistantship (respectively) plus time for studies in support of degree progress, requests for outside employment for students on ½- or ¾-time assistantships in excess of 5 hours per week will not be approved.
  
  Generally, PhD Nursing students are supported as a Grade 12 ½ time pre–Qualifying Exam, and then bumped to a Grade 14 ½ the semester after successfully passing post Qualifying Exam. Requests for students appointed to assistantships to be approved for simultaneous outside employment up to 5 hours per week will be considered when the student is supported on a ½-time assistantship. Note students supported on a visa should always check with the DISSA office before engaging in any form of employment.

• Requests for students appointed to assistantships to be approved for simultaneous outside employment up to 20 hours per week will be considered when the student is supported on a ¼-time assistantship. There must be a significant justification from the program as to why the student needs to be employed. A request for an exception to be granted may be made by a formal memo indicating the rationale for the exception. The memo must indicate the support of:
  
  A request for an exception to be granted may be made by a completed Variable Rate Form accompanied by a formal memo indicating the rationale for the exception. The memo must indicate the support of
  
  

1) the student's advisor.

2) the student's graduate program head (cc Administrative Coordinator), the assistantship provider (if not the student's adviser or graduate program) and the college /school administrator for graduate education. Please include the following information:

• Student name and PSU ID

• Detailed rationale regarding the need for student to maintain outside employment.

• Details regarding how the student will successfully be able to participate in a 1/4-time appointment, including both course work/research, and assistantship activities, while undertaking outside employment,

• Documentation from employer (e.g., offer letter)

  • Must include number of hours student is expected to work each week, pay rate, dates of employment.

• The memo and documentation from employer must be included as a single PDF with the Variable Rate Form submitted to the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration through the appropriate College Teams folder. The college's Administrative Coordinator for Graduate Education is the individual responsible for submitting on behalf of the college.

 Internships - No special procedures are required for internships that meet the parameter defined in the guidance. However, students must be enrolled in the appropriate course 595/895.  Internship to be appointed to an assistantship while participating in an internship. The credit hours awarded for 595/895 must align with the University’s expectations for assignment of credit. Students appointed to graduate assistantships during the academic year must not undertake internships requiring more than 30 hours per week (10 credits).

IUG Students - For students enrolling in 9-12 credits, a memo requesting approval for the appointment must be sent to the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration. The request must also include the student’s plan of study for the semester(s) of the assistantship, including i) which courses will be enrolled on the undergraduate transcript, ii) which courses will be enrolled on the graduate transcript, and iii) which courses will count toward the graduate degree.

For students enrolling in 12-14 credits, a memo requesting approval for the appointment to the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration (gsfellowships@psu.edu).  It should also include a completed Variable Rate Form and the student's plan of study for the semester(s) of the assistantship, including i) which courses will be enrolled on the undergraduate transcript, ii) which courses will be enrolled on the graduate transcript, and iii) which courses will count toward the graduate degree.

Violations of the policy will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Violating the policy may result in a range of actions, from initiating probationary status to termination of funding.

Guidance for Graduate Assistantships with IUGs, Internships, or Outside Employment. 

https://gradschool.psu.edu/funding/information-for-graduate-assistants

All students appointed on a Graduate Assistantship or Fellowship are required to complete the Graduate Assistant Semester Evaluation Form each semester. Students should work closely with their assistantship managers to complete the form.

Completed forms must be submitted to the Graduate Program Office no later than the last day of classes for each semester they are appointed. Students can located here.

Students appointed to assistantships should refer to the Student Affairs website for detailed information regarding student health insurance coverage.

https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/health-insurance/graduate-assistant-fellows-and-trainees

For information on SHIP, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Student Health Insurance Office.

Student Health Insurance
228 Bank of America Career Services Center
566 Eisenhower Rd.
University Park, PA 16802

• Hours & Location

• 814-865-4UHS (4847)

• uhs-insurance@psu.edu

Students on Assistantships can refer to news broadcasts sent out by the Fox Graduate School at the following link: https://us12.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=93c492ff7b8eb44c3c5503236&id=e9dc4667d2