Graduate Assistant Appointment Eligibility

The following eligibility requirements govern all Graduate Assistant (GA) and Residential Graduate Assistant (hereafter referred to as Graduate Assistant or GA) appointments at the University of Kansas, Lawrence:

Graduate Assistants are active student employees (either salaried or hourly, as determined by Human Resource Management) who hold a position that furthers the professional and/or academic development of the graduate student. The duties performed are professional in nature and under the direct supervision of faculty, academic professionals, or administrators. While the duties may involve classroom instruction or research integral to the student’s degree program or dissertation, those activities are not the primary focus of the job. The Graduate Assistant's job duties should not include grading student work, developing course content, or taking responsibility for a course or section as Instructor of Record. Graduate Assistants who engage in classroom instruction should spend no more than 10% of their work time doing so. The Graduate Assistant's responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, administrative and professional internships. The Vice Provost of Graduate Studies must approve GA appointments. [Note: Graduate Assistant positions are a distinct category of graduate student support. This category does not include Graduate Research Assistants, Graduate Teaching Assistants, or student-hourly positions held by graduate students.]

In order to be eligible for a GA appointment, a graduate student must meet all of the following criteria:

1. During the term of appointment, the student is admitted to and enrolled in a graduate degree program offered by the University of Kansas;
2. During the fall and/or spring semesters in which the graduate student holds a GA appointment, the student must be enrolled in no fewer than six (6) credit hours required for the student's graduate degree. GAs on summer session appointments may enroll but are not required to do so.

a. Enrollment and Post Comps: Upon successful completion of the doctoral comprehensive examination and all other Graduate Studies and departmental requirements for candidacy to the doctoral degree, and upon completion of 18 post-comprehensive credit hours, the student may enroll in one (1) or more dissertation, thesis, or equivalent credit hours as approved by the student's department, the student's school or College, and the Office of Graduate Studies to qualify for a Graduate Assistantship appointment. [Note: Candidates for the professional doctoral degrees may enroll in dissertation-equivalent hours as approved by Graduate Studies. For more detailed information about post-comprehensive enrollment, see the policy on Doctoral Candidacy.]

3. During the term of appointment, the GA must be in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree, as determined by Graduate Studies and the department in which the student is enrolled. A graduate student must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 to remain in good academic standing. However, if a department judges that a graduate student whose GPA falls below 3.0 after the first semester at KU is nonetheless making satisfactory progress, the department may recommend to the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies that the student be allowed to keep the GA position for one (1) additional semester.
4. The student must successfully pass a background check established by the University.
5. A student who has earned a graduate degree may not continue in a GA appointment after the graduation date unless the student has just completed a master’s degree and is enrolled in a doctoral program in the same field or a closely related field, or the student is a doctoral graduate who has been accepted into another graduate program.