Student Employment

Graduate school is a substantial investment and incoming students typically seek opportunities to lessen the financial costs. Teaching assistantships, research assistantships, fellowships, grants and loans provide the most common forms of support for graduate students.

A 2016 survey of MDP Alumni revealed that 75% of respondents held some kind of paid assistantship position during their time in the MDP program. Likewise, a vast majority (70%) held these positions for two semesters, most likely during the second year of the program. While not impossible to do, it is unusual for students to find assistantship positions in the first semester. 

Getting started

The path to Graduate Assistant Employment begins at the Office of Human Resources Graduate Assistant Employment website, which is where you will also find the job search page. The program also recommends that students interested in employment quickly and consistently engage faculty with interests that align with student experiences and goals. While the online employment system cannot and should not be circumvented, it can be complemented by direct engagement with faculty and staff of interest. Students should keep in mind that building relationships with faculty and staff can have short and longer term benefits as well as direct and indirect outcome. 

MDP considerations

Experience demonstrates that MDP students make excellent student employees (great feedback!) but face two notable challenges in seeking assistantships. The MDP program is a professional degree program and many research assistantships target students doing research-oriented degrees (e.g., M.S.) , as these degrees include allowances for credits to pursue thesis and related research with research-oriented faculty. Second, the MDP program is interdisciplinary and draws on faculty from various colleges, each with its own respective students. Teaching and research appointments sometimes remain "in-house", being filled by graduate students within the college or department. Both challenges are surmountable and provide compelling reasons to forge a direct connection with faculty and staff within Humphrey but also around the University; faculty and staff allies can advocate for you in competitive hiring situations. 

MDP students have been successful with centers and institutes that do interdisciplinary work outside of the college or department structure . The following University-based centers and institutes have been important sources of MDP employment:

• University of Minnesota Extension, Community Vitality Area

• University of Minnesota Extension, Family Development

• University of Minnesota Extension, Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships

• Institute on the Environment (IonE)

• Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA)

• Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM)

 A few words on the language of assistantships:

• 50 percent time positions are "full time" positions and generally come with nearly full(1) tuition support, health benefits and a stipend 

• 25 percent time positions are "half-time" positions and generally come with partial tuition support, health benefits and a stipend. 

• University-subsidized health insurance is available to graduate assistants holding appointments of 25 percent or more.

• (1) For example, the University pays 47.5 percent for a student with a 25 percent appointment, and 95 percent is paid for a student with a 50 percent appointment. In all cases, students remain responsible for University fees.