SPARK is our preview/recruitment event. This year the dates are February 22 & 23, 2026. Candidates are invited to SPARK to learn about UNCG and to interview for GA positions. A couple days before SPARK, the GA descriptions are sent out to the candidates for you to rank which positions you would like to interview for. Likewise, we notify partners/employers of your resumes and ask them to rank order which students they would like to interview for their GA position. We get back rankings from both students and partner/employers and then build interview schedules for you and partners/employers. Next, the partners/employers will look at who ranks their GAs and we “match” you with interviews. So, essentially we match two sets of rankings and pair you employers to interview with.
During the first day of SPARK (Sunday) you should wear a t-shirt/sweatshirt from your undergraduate institution. For the second day of SPARK (Monday) you should be dressed in interview attire.
While attendance at SPARK is not mandatory, it is highly encouraged. SPARK is meant to give you a holistic view of the SAAHE program, UNCG, and the Triad. While at SPARK you will meet other candidates (potential future cohort members), meet the faculty, and interview for Graduate Assistantships. Coming to SPARK will provide you with the opportunity to see all of the things the SAAHE program offers.
Our employers generally like to meet candidates when possible because, as one employer put it to us, “If I’m going to work with you for the next 2 years, I need to have you physically in front of me.” For some employers, being present at SPARK is a sign of commitment from the candidates that they’re serious about their consideration of UNCG for graduate school. That’s not to say that all employers are that strict but that has been a general feeling in the past by some. Typically phone/Zoom/Teams/Facetime/Skype/etc. interviews have been set up for candidates whose circumstances were more extreme (family emergency, financial, sports/academics, etc.) and not because of attending another institution’s interview weekend.
All of our students who have wanted a GA in the past were placed in a GA. Sometimes that did not immediately happen after SPARK if they interviewed but we worked to the best of our ability with each one of our students to place them into an assistantship before the Fall. Students who decide not to attend UNCG and who were offered an assistantship open up a vacancy in employment that we will work to fill with a student needing a GA. It is not uncommon at all for us to receive requests into the summer, and sometimes even in August, by departments who suddenly are able to support/are in need of a graduate student to work with them.
The job descriptions can be found on the SPARK website under "Assistantships."
We hope to have offers of assistantships out by no later than Friday, March 6, 2026 (if not sooner), barring any unforeseen setbacks.
It is our hope that all students who accept an assistantship will receive tuition waivers (scholarships) to help cover costs of graduate school. SAAHE has a very limited number of waivers to work with each year; in addition, many of our partners/employers offer the equivalency of in-state tuition assistance that is placed on student accounts. For out-of-state students, SAAHE works to cover the cost of an out-of-state tuition waiver. While tuition waivers aren’t guaranteed, we have been able to provide all students with assistantships tuition scholarships in previous years. Tuition waivers only cover the cost of tuition and does not include student fees (which typically come in around $1,600 per semester), books, etc.
Here is the link to more information concerning a breakdown of tuition costs and fees.
An email to SAAHE Coordinator, Dr. Brad Johnson (Brad.Johnson@uncg.edu), with your decision is the first step. The next step is to inform the Graduate School of your decision utilizing the email sent out to all accepted students with information about how to go back into your graduate school application and indicate your intent to enroll. While we hope you will accept our invitation to join us, we understand that not everyone will choose to do so. As soon as you are sure of your decision, we ask that you to email us to let us know. If you choose not to attend UNCG and have been offered an assistantship, we would like to be able to offer that assistantship to another student as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that, per the “April 15 Resolution: Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants,” graduate programs can NOT ask or require you to make a decision about an offer of financial support (which includes the offer of a GA) before April 15 if their institution is a signatory to the Resolution (UNCG is a signatory). The Resolution includes a list of all institutions who have signed on as signatories to uphold the Resolution.