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Graduate Assistantship

Graduate Assistantship

Missouri Southern offers Graduate Assistantships which provide students with valuable opportunities to gain work experience that correlates with their academic program. Graduate Assistantships also provide opportunities for graduate students to network with faculty/staff on campus. Missouri Southern State University is committed to providing a comprehensive educational experience that fosters intellectual growth and prepares students for successful careers. Our graduate programs offer a supportive and dynamic environment for advanced study and research. Graduate Assistants are eligible for a scholarship and stipend for the duration of their appointment.

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Scholarship and Stipend 

Tuition Scholarship in-state, 6 hours            $1,200
Tuition Scholarship non-res, 6 hours            $2,000

Tuition Scholarship in-state, 9 hours            $1,600
Tuition Scholarship non-res, 9 hours            $2,500

Stipend                                                               $3,600

 

Compensation

  1. Graduate Assistants are eligible to receive a graduate scholarship and stipend. The scholarship is in the form of a waiver and the funds are not deposited into the GA’s personal account. Instead, the student’s bill is reduced by the amount of the scholarship awarded. If the maximum amount of the scholarship is not used, the remainder is not paid to the Graduate Assistant in cash and unused scholarship money cannot be carried over to another semester. The scholarship is applied to graduate-level courses only; courses taken for undergraduate credit are not eligible to be covered by the GA scholarship.
  2. The stipend is paid to the GA via direct deposit. The compensation received as a GA must be reported as income when filing state and federal tax returns.


Application and Eligibility

Applying for GA position: To be eligible, a student must:

  1. Not be a full-time employee of the university.
  2. Have completed a bachelor's degree
  3. Be accepted into a MSSU graduate degree program as a degree-seeking student.
  4. Have an undergraduate GPA of 2.7 or graduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  5. The application for specific GA positions will be available on the website.
  6. International students who have not completed their primary and their secondary education in a nation or territory where English is the primary language must have completed one term of enrollment in a public institution of higher education in the state of Missouri and successfully completed the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Test (SPEAK) before they can be appointed as a teaching assistant. An international student in their first term of study may apply for any other type of assistantship offered, so long as they meet the skills required to fulfill the job.


To maintain a GA position,

  1. Graduate Assistants must be enrolled in a minimum of six graduate credit hours at MSSU to be eligible for an assistantship. For a summer assistantship, a GA must be enrolled in at least three graduate credit hours at MSSU.
    1. Courses taken for undergraduate credit are not counted toward the minimum enrollment.  
    2. The recommended number of hours for Graduate Assistants positions is nine hours per regular semester. The maximum enrollment is set at twelve to allow for special situations in which the student needs to enroll in more than nine hours due to requirements for the student’s degree program. However, students who enroll in twelve hours will receive the scholarship and stipend associated with nine hours. 
    3. Students who drop below 6 credit hours in a semester will no longer be eligible and will be removed from their GA position immediately. 
  2. Graduate Assistants are expected to maintain an overall 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA. Failure to exhibit the expected academic standards will result in automatic termination of the assistantship. If a student is placed on academic probation, their assistantship will be terminated. Graduate Assistants must also enroll in the minimum number of graduate credit hours each semester to maintain their assistantship.
  3. Graduate assistants are expected to work 20 hours per week during their dates of employment and cannot exceed 20 hours per week. 
    • According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, international students are limited to a maximum of 20 hours of work per week during the fall and spring semester while classes are in session.  
    • If a Graduate Assistant feels at any time that their work responsibilities cannot be completed during the 20 hours, they should express their concerns with their supervisor immediately to discuss alternative solutions. Working more than the 20-hour limit is not permissible. On no occasion should the Graduate Assistant’s workload interfere with their academic study (missing classes/examinations). 
  4. Can have an assistantship position no more than four semesters, summers do not count.