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What
is a Graduate Assistantship?
It is a job that pays tuition and a stipend.
The responsibilities are either to do research
or to help teach (Research and Teaching
Assistantships – RA and TA).
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What
are the duties of Graduate Assistants?
RAs and TAs are appointments that expect
continuous participation over the course
of their duration, for example, from September
1 to May 30. They do not simply follow the
schedule of classes. It is important to
understand that Graduate Assistants are
expected to work during periods when classes
are not in session – just as faculty
and other research staff do.
At
the discretion of the research or teaching
supervisors, graduate assistants may take
holidays provided that they make arrangements
to make up the work time that is missed
while absent from their employment.
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How
many hours a week is a Graduate Assistant
expected to work?
Graduate Assistants normally work around
25 to 30 hours a week on their research
and teaching. This level tends to vary,
being higher for persons working on their
theses and lower for persons starting out
on a project. Teaching assistants will find
that they work at a high level during the
time when classes are given, but little
when they are not.
In
general, MIT is a high-intensity environment,
which is what it takes to be at the leading
edge. Thus the faculty expectations of themselves,
of full-time students (45 to 50 units of
classes) and of graduate assistants are
high.
Note
however, that for the purposes of visa regulations,
the nominal work load for a graduate assistant
is labeled as 20 hours/week. This is presumably
because the Government considers that 40
hours/week is a full-time load. However,
the reality on the ground is different.
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How
many credit units may I take if I do have
a Graduate Assistantship or Teaching Assistantship?
This number is limited. The principle is
that students must leave room for the work
for which they are getting paid.
Each
Department or equivalent unit at MIT sets
its own rules for the limitation on the
number of units. For ESD, these limits are:
- RAs
and TAs may register for up to 54 units/year,
including up to 33 units/semester without
petitioning the graduate committee, and
may petition to take up to a maximum of
36 units in one semester
-
The average number of units/semester over
the student's graduate program must not
exceed 27
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Units for thesis do not count as part
of the total
If
the student is on a part-time assistantship,
these numbers can be prorated with the agreement
of the supervisor.
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How
many credit units may I take if I do not
have a Graduate Assistantship or Teaching
Assistantship?
You
may take a “full load” which
is normally considered to be around 45 to
50 MIT units of subjects. [Note: 3 MIT units
correspond to I unit at most North American
universities.] Some people may take more
if they have particularly good backgrounds
in the basics for their subjects. Others
may find themselves fully loaded with fewer
units, for example if they are not used
to taking classes in English, have been
away from school for many years, or are
studying new material.
Students
should consult with their advisors to discuss
this issue.
Note
that the perspective of the International
Student Office (ISO) is shaped by visa
regulations. They require foreign students
to take a “full load” but, in
this context, the number of total units
is considerably less (around 30, but consult
with ISO for exact details).
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Does
ESD offer financial assistance?
Please see FAQs
about Admissions to ESD's S.M. and Ph.D.
Programs
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October
2005
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