Cost of Attendance

Assistantships for International Students

Graduate assistantships (GA) are an excellent way to obtain funding for graduate education. USF provides these positions to qualified students on a competitive basis.

GAs may teach, conduct research or have other responsibilities that contribute to the student's professional development. All graduate assistants are employed by USF and work under a contract negotiated by Graduate Assistants United (GAU) and the USF Board of Trustees. The GAU is the labor union certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for graduate assistants at USF.

Who Awards Graduate Assistantships?

Graduate assistantships are typically awarded through a specific graduate program/department or college.

  • The number of GA positions that are available in a given college or department is based on funding from the university, as well as grants awarded to individual faculty.
  • Contact the Graduate Program Director in your department of study to determine if your graduate program awards GA positions and the specific eligibility requirements.

These temporary position openings for graduate students at USF are posted within the Human Resources online application system. Visit Work at USF to search for available openings and apply.

Find GA Positions

Graduate Assistant Eligibility

Both the Office of Graduate Studies and the university allocate financial resources to support full-time, degree-seeking graduate students. You must meet the following eligibility requirements to receive an assistantship:

  • Accepted into a graduate degree program and meet the qualifications as specified by the graduate program
  • Meet the academic qualifications as specified by the GA job code
  • Meet appropriate verbal test scores, if English is not your primary language
  • Maintain a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) and degree program GPA of 3.00
  • Enroll full-time during the semester(s) appointed as a graduate assistant
    • Full-time enrollment (Fall): 9 graduate credit hours
    • Full-time enrollment (Spring): 9 graduate credit hours
    • Full-time enrollment (Summer): 6 graduate credit hours
    • If a GA is enrolled in the last semester of their program of study, they may be registered for fewer credit hours than the full-time requirement.

  • To retain their assistantship, GAs must comply with all Office of Graduate Studies enrollment requirements as stated in the Polices section of the Office of Graduate Studies Catalog.
  • Students appointed with <0.25 total FTE are not eligible for tuition waivers.