Graduate Assistantships or Instructorships
Learn detailed information about graduate assistantships or instructorships, including the application process, teaching or research requirements, and stipends.
Making Graduate School Affordable Through Graduate Student Work Opportunities
Updated 5/8/2025
Application for a graduate assistantship/instructorship should be made directly to the academic department in which the applicant will pursue a degree.
- Graduate assistantships open to degree-seeking graduate students from any discipline are advertised on the webpage for Open Graduate Assistantship Opportunities.
- Graduate assistantships that require part-time teaching, laboratory assistance, research or other assistance are available in a number of fields and from grant and contracts. Certain academic departments offer graduate instructorships, which involves direct responsibility for teaching one or more courses.
International students who attain graduate assistantships that involve any teaching or instruction activities are subject to the Policy on Language Assessment for International Graduate Students.
Stipends for graduate assistantships/instructorships vary, depending on the level of the graduate student, the service to be rendered and the time commitment (typically ¼- or ½-time appointments are made).
- Academic excellence, maturity and teaching or research experience are the main qualifications considered in the appointment of assistants/instructors.
- In addition to the stipend, graduate assistants/instructors also receive a partial tuition scholarship (75% of regular graduate tuition** for ¼-time appointments and 100% of regular graduate tuition** for ½-time appointments) and receive a full nonresident fee scholarship during regular (i.e., fall and spring) academic terms.
Online programs are NOT eligible for the tuition or fee scholarships at this time.
See Financial Aid FAQs for additional details on tuition and fees.
Scholarships and Programs
Some programs have established program-specific minimum stipends for the academic year for any student receiving an assistantship. That list of programs is found at Program Minimum Stipends. All other graduate students who are enrolled full-time and who receive an assistantship are eligible for tuition scholarships according to the following schedule:
75% Tuition Scholarship** | 100% Tuition Scholarship** | |
|---|---|---|
| Work Load | 10 hours of work per week (¼-time) | 20 hours of work per week (½-time) |
| Minimum Annual Stipenda,b | $3,250 per semester | $6,500 per semester |
| Enrollment Min (as current policy) | 9 hrs | 9 hrs |
| Enrollment Max (as current policy) | 13 hrs | 13 hrs |
**Accountancy and MBA students need to confer with your program regarding fee differential.
a The minimum stipends are calculated using the following specific dates:
- Fall semester begins the Thursday before the start of classes and ends the last day of finals.
- Spring semester begins the first day of classes and ends the last day of finals.
b Effective July 1, 2024, units that hire a graduate assistant from the start of the Fall term through the end of the Spring term will be expected to meet the per term minimums without counting the pay between terms (the same is true for other appointments with work extending beyond the single term). To do so with a single appointment running across the two regular terms, the unit will pay a stipend of the same rate for the weeks between the terms as they pay during the regular term.
- Graduate assistants with an appointment that extends across the regular academic year (which would run from the Thursday before the start of the fall term through the last day of finals in the spring) will require a minimum of $14,625 for a ½-time appointment and $7,313 for a ¼-time appointment.
- Assistantships that run from August 1 through May 31 must have a minimum stipend of $16,626 for a ½-time appointment and $8,313 for a ¼-time appointment.
- The minimum 12-month stipend translates to $21,125 for a ½-time appointment and $10,563 for a ¼-time appointment.
- The rate of $6,500 for a 16-week term translates to a minimum stipend of $406.25 per week (for a ½-time appointment) for weeks where the graduate assistant works outside the dates of the Fall or Spring terms (graduate students are not expected to work when the university is closed; if they have to work when the university is closed, the hiring unit shall follow the policy that outlines credit for hours worked while the university is closed).
Any unit wishing to pay only the per term assistantship rates should hire graduate assistants separately per term and cannot require the graduate assistant to work between the terms unless the unit completes a separate e-form to address the pay between the terms. Graduate assistants hired for the regular academic year should be aware that they are paid on a schedule that includes work between regular terms. Units should be aware that hiring graduate students on a semester-by-semester basis results in 2 missed pay periods.
Both the 75% and 100% scholarships include a full non-resident fee scholarship. Online programs are NOT eligible for graduate assistantships at this time.
To recruit highly competitive graduate students who are positioned to advance the research mission of the University of Mississippi, the Provost’s Office in partnership with the Graduate School will provide funding for a limited number of Elite Scholars. The Elite Scholars Program is a tool to further elevate our excellent academic programs as they recruit the next generation of leading researchers and professionals to pursue terminal-degrees at UM.
The Elite Scholars Program recognizes outstanding graduate student researchers and increases the value of the stipend associated with a qualifying assistantship for a highly selective group of students. It is expected that Elite Scholars will be students who bring a record of excellence in research and innovation such that they are poised to engage in transformative work while completing their studies at UM.
To be considered, admitted students must be nominated by their department chair or graduate program coordinator.
- Provost’s Elite Scholars
- Annual $10,000 increase in stipend for up to three years
- Three awards available
- Dean’s Elite Scholars
- Annual $5,000 increase in stipend for up to three years
- Four awards available
Please see the Program Announcement, Nomination Form, and Chair & Dean Recommendation Form linked below for full details. Nominations for the Elite Scholars Program Fall 2025 admissions term were due February 17th, 202. Online programs are NOT eligible at this time.