Graduate Assistantships

Resource

Office
Office of the Provost

Graduate Assistantships provide mentored professional training for current graduate students, through meaningful sustained opportunities in a variety of areas. Supervision and mentoring are provided by experienced staff and faculty members who are committed to sharing the skills and knowledge needed for successful application after graduation. 

Goals

Regardless of the type of assistantship, or the tasks assigned, all Graduate Assistantships should:

1) enhance a student’s professional and scholarly development, while also filling an operational need; 

2) be closely supervised and have clearly articulated goals and expectations;

3) provide students with experience and feedback that will help them to be successful in the kinds of career opportunities they may be likely to encounter upon completing their degrees; and

4) augment financial support to graduate students as they develop professional skills.

Requirements

Graduate Assistantships should be understood primarily as experiential learning and development rather than work that usually appears productive or of intrinsic value but actually only keeps one occupied; applicants must have earned a bachelor’s degree, have matriculated into a graduate program at Pratt Institute, and be enrolled for the semester during which they are working.

Compensation and Eligibility

Students must be registered for at least 6 credits for each fall and spring semester in which they are employed as a Graduate Assistant. Students enrolled in at least 6 credits for fall may be employed over the summer sessions. The rate of compensation for all Graduate Assistantships is set at $19.00 per hour as of January 1, 2024. All Graduate Assistantships are paid via a semester-long stipend, based on the hourly rate listed above. The maximum number of hours a full time graduate student may work is 20 hours per week per semester. During winter break, spring break, and summer, students currently enrolled in a graduate program may work up to 35 hours per week. Students matriculating at the end of the spring semester cannot work over the summer session, and their last date of employment coincides with the end of the spring semester.

Areas of Support

Most Graduate Assistantships originate in departments or divisions with graduate programs and are developed and assigned by the department in conjunction with the Dean and Provost. Graduate Assistantships are also assigned to undergraduate programs, as well as non-academic areas that wish to engage graduate students in employment. Once a student completes their program, they are not eligible to receive funding or work as a Graduate Assistant.

Graduate Assistantships can support departmental, divisional, and institutional initiatives and priorities as well as faculty research and scholarship.

Qualifying Position Types

Graduate Assistantships may provide support in academic areas, including but not limited to:

  • Program-related support work (exhibitions, lecture series, accreditation and other types of program enhancements)
  • Department or faculty-led research projects 
  • Department-based faculty support, including Graduate Assistant classroom support and support of curricular development and materials. 
  • Technical work (requiring and developing technical skills for the discipline) – this may include skills development related to one’s major, such as designing material and content for Pratt’s programs and departments, creating prototypes for demonstrations within a specific lab, shop, or other resource area, among others.
  • Support in skill development in areas relevant to one’s discipline. As each discipline and degree requirements vary, this could include creating presentations, developing and tracking data, and writing proposals, among others.  Support may also include developing communication skills, and other soft skill development needed for professional markets. 

Non-Qualifying Position Types

Graduate Assistants may NOT serve as:

  • Temporary replacement for staff on a leave of absence. 
  • Replacement of a staff member or temporary replacement for a project that would otherwise be managed by a staff member.
  • Direct supervision and liability for a lab or shop with no reporting to / oversight by a technical or administrative staff.
  • Teaching Assistants or Faculty Assistants that take the place of a faculty member in their responsibilities for delivery of a course including assignment or exam grading, leading group critiques without faculty present or other kinds of assessments of student’s work that result in determining final course grades.

For entering a hiring request for a GA, please click https://pratt.studentemployment.ngwebsolutions.com/. For questions regarding qualifying or non-qualifying positions, please contact Human Resources at hrstudentemployment@pratt.edu. For questions about the Graduate Assistantship program, please contact Laurel Voss, lvoss@pratt.edu.