Assistantships (TA/RA)

Teaching Assistant

A limited number of competitive Teaching Assistantships (TAs) are available for full-time students. TAs teach laboratory classes in earth science, geology, geographic information systems, quantitative methods, and archaeology. Teaching assistantships are competitively awarded on the basis of departmental need and the applicant's ability. Teaching assistants receive a stipend, an out-of-state tuition waiver, additional tuition assistance (when available), and access to affordable health insurance options. Current stipend, tuition assistance, tuition, and health insurance information may be obtained by contacting our department.

Students serving as a Teaching Assistant (TA) should expect an initial graduate TA meeting about one week before the beginning of the new semester (both Fall and Spring). Teaching assistants are expected to enroll full time (9 credit hours) each semester that they receive a teaching assistantship. Exceptions to this policy (i.e., taking less hours) may occur when TAs are enrolled in thesis hours, but any such reduction should only be done in consultation with the student's major professor.

Teaching assistants are expected to enroll full-time (9 semester credit hours per semester), and assuming satisfactory performance as a teaching assistant (defined through teaching evaluations) and in class (defined as a minimum score of a B in every class), teaching assistants will be supported for four long semesters.

Research Assistant

Research assistantships are often available through individual faculty research grants and are dependent on faculty needs and student expertise. The length of a research assistantship is dependent upon the size of the research grant. Numerous internship opportunities are available with private industry and various local governments. Internships are organized through the internship coordinator. Finally, Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country, so if you are unable to secure an assistantship upon enrollment or would prefer to enroll part-time, part-time work is plentiful and relatively easy to find.