Teaching Assistants

For the M.A. degree, financial assistance may be given for a maximum of two academic years (or 4 semesters). For the combined M.A. and Ph.D., assistance may be given for a maximum of five academic years (or 10 semesters). Teaching Assistantships (TA) are awarded to both M.A. and Ph.D. students. Entry-level M.A. assistantships currently pay $10,000 for half-time employment for the academic year (September through May). Half-time graduate student employees receive the same health insurance as faculty and staff for the academic year and summer at no cost to the student. Spouses and families do cost extra and premiums are deducted from the student's salary. Teaching assistants normally help professors who are lecturing to large enrollment classes, such as persuasion, argumentation, nonverbal communication, organizational communication, and interpersonal communication. The department normally employs about 15 TAs each year.

Note: The salaries and fellowship amounts cited in this section are for Fall 2006, and are subject to change. We include this information only to give you a rough estimate of potential income.