Graduate Assistants

Congratulations on your offer of assistance, and a sincere welcome to our department! Our GAs and TS students have done much in the past to contribute to our department's vitality, and have in turn learned from their assignments. With your help, we will do what we can to make your assistantship a good experience for you and us alike.

The Computer Science department offers summer GAships, but only on a very limited basis. These assistantships have typically involved summer teaching assignments or special projects like the department's Girls In Science and Technology (GIST) summer program. The department typically awards summer GAships on a "by invitation only" basis, to students who have done related work as part of a fall or spring GAship.

The primary source of information on your rights and obligations as a GA or a TS holder are outlined in the graduate school's GA and TS Handbook, You should use that document as your primary source of information on GAships and TSships.

On their arrival to ETSU, international students who are holding a new GAship or TAship must do the following:

  • report to the International Programs Office
  • apply for a social security number and card
  • complete paperwork for GLACIER, a federally mandated database of contact information for international students (for more information, check with auxiliary services)
  • schedule an appointment for an oral proficiency examination with Dr. Yousef ElHindi of the English department (elhindi@etsu.edu; 429-439-5992).

Courses Enrollment
In order to hold a GAship or TSship in a given semester, a student must

  • enroll as a full-time graduate student at the start of that semester, and
  • maintain full-time enrollment until the end of the semester.

Graduate students who hold a graduate assistantship in department of computer science must also enroll in one of two special classes:

  • If you hold a full TA, 1/2-TA, or 1/2TA+1/2RA appointment, you must enroll in CSCI 5019-001 (supervised teaching).
  • If you hold a full RA or 1/2-RA appointment, you must enroll in CSCI 5029-001 (supervised research).

Tuition Waiver
Any GA or TS appointment that you obtain should relieve you of all or part of your obligation to pay tuition for fall or spring term:

  • A full GA appointment or a TS appointment should relieve you of your obligation to pay any tuition whatsoever for the term in which you hold this appointment.
  • A half-GA appointment should relieve you of your obligation to pay half of your tuition, and allow you to pay the remaining half at in-state rates.

Note: In order to maintain your GA or TS position, you must fulfill duties as a GA or a TS to your supervisor's satisfaction, and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above.