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Assistantships
Assistantships
Graduate Research Assistants conduct academically significant research under the direction of a faculty member who is generally a principal investigator on an external grant or contract. GRAs are awarded by departments and professors who are engaged in research projects.
Research assistantships offer exciting opportunities to participate in ongoing research developments at Virginia Tech. Since GRAs are often funded by sponsored research grants, they may be paid at a higher or lower stipend rates than GTAs. The GRA rate is determined by the OSP budget on the project where the GRA will be paid.
Assistantship Eligibility
Assistantship Eligibility
For a student to be eligible for an assistantship, they must meet the following criteria:
For a student to be eligible for an assistantship, they must meet the following criteria:
Must be enrolled in 12-18 credit hours in fall and spring; audited courses do not count toward fulfilling this requirement.
Maintain a 3.0 GPA; departmental requirements may be higher
Make satisfactory progress toward degree as defined by academic departments and the Graduate School
Meet requirements to be eligible for employment in the U.S. You can find information about employment eligibility verification and tax forms from the Payroll Office.
Students who plan to defend early and leave the university during the semester should not be on an assistantship but may be paid on wages.
A full assistantship requires a student to work for 20 hours per week on average. Students may or may not be required to report to work during school breaks and should discuss expectations with supervisors.
Departments may also offer partial assistantships (i.e. 50% assistantship which would average 10 hours per week).
Assistantship Package
Assistantship Package
To be competitive in the recruitment and retention of high quality graduate students, the university provides an assistantship compensation package that is comparable with those offered by our peer institutions. The key components of the compensation package are:
competitive stipends
in-state tuition scholarship in proportion to the assistantship FTE and contract period, and out-of-state tuition waiver (if eligibility requirements are met)
health insurance subsidy (if eligibility requirements are met)
payment plan for comprehensive and CFE fees
Setting Expectations
Setting Expectations
A full assistantship requires 20 hours per week on average. A half assistantship is 10 hours per week on average.
All supervisors should set clear expectations related to performance, schedule, first and last day of work (these may be different from the start/end dates of the contract), and holiday work schedule.
Do not assume it is clear!
VTNSI Standard Equitable Rates
VTNSI Standard Equitable Rates
Step 1 (Step 2 for Arlington) – An M.S. student with fewer than 24 credit hours
Step 2 (Step 2 for Arlington) - An M.S. student with 24+ credit hours or a Ph.D., student with fewer than 30 credit hours
Step 2 (Step 3 for Arlington) – A Ph.D. student with a master’s or 30 or more post-baccalaureate credit hours
Step 3 (Step 3 for Arlington) – A Ph.D. student who passed the preliminary examination
Note: When preparing OSP budgets, use the highest amount of the step level.
Tuition Amounts
Tuition Amounts
Hiring departments are obligated to cover in-state tuition and applicable supplemental program fees proportionate to the appointment. This means: 1 FTE = 100% tuition; .5FTE = 50% tuition.
2025-26 Graduate Monthly Stipend Table
2025-26 Graduate Monthly Stipend Table
2025-26 Stipend Table.pdf
Funding
Funding
Bridge Funding
Bridge Funding
Bridge funding is intended to cover gaps between student funding sources and will be charged permanently to NSI central funds. To request approval, please email nsifinance@vt.edu. In your email subject line, include the student’s last name along with the funding duration and the total estimated cost of stipend and tuition. Please note: charges to bridge fund 235347 should only be for expenses that will remain on this fund. Do not post charges that you expect to transfer once other funding becomes available.
Temporary
Temporary
Temporary funding is defined as awaiting PAN issuance and does not require approvals. Work with the PMO for actions needed during the LOE pull. If these charges will be transferred to a project once funding is allocated, they should be charged to fund 234543. This ensures visibility for all charges that need to be moved to projects.
FAQ's
FAQ's
When will tuition be funded? The fiscal team can and should fund tuition after the drop/add date, early in each term.
Can a GRA hold a wage job in the summer too? The student may not exceed 40 hours per week. Theoretically yes, they can hold both positions. As their advisor, it is up to you as to if they can complete the research component of the GRA position + 20 hours + 15 hours.
Are students allowed to work a job outside of their assistantship obligations? Graduate students on full assistantships are not prohibited from seeking additional employment (restrictions may apply to international students). Students should consult with their academic advisor and/or assistantship supervisor as applicable regarding the fulfillment of their assistantship and graduate study responsibilities. Students must notify the Graduate School about any additional employment, including the period of employment, name and contact of employer, and job title or short description of duties (there is an online reporting tool found here: Additional Employment Reporting Tool). Per Human Resources, if a student is on an assistantship, those hours do not count towards the 1,500 wage hour rule. If the student has additional Virginia Tech wage employment, those hours do apply to the 1,500 wage rule.
Can a contract date precede the date of the I-20? It is ok for new international students to have a contract start date that precedes their program start date on their I-20 and/or their arrival date in the U.S. Virginia Tech uses standard assistantship contract start/end dates to ensure that students get 9 full pay periods each semester. However, actual work start-end dates may be different, more likely to coincide with semester start/end dates. If a student arrives significantly later than the contract start date, departments may adjust the start date to a later date, but are not obligated to do so.
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