Graduate
Departmental Support
TA- and AI-ships
As far as funding allows, students in the English graduate program will be provided support for their graduate studies by means of a teaching appointment in either of the English Department or the Division of Rhetoric and Writing (DRW).
Students entering the program with a BA degree can expect this support for a minimum of 5 years and, if funding allows, a maximum of 7 years. Students entering the program with an MA can expect this support for a minimum of 4 years and, if funding allows, a maximum of 5 years. Students earn their support through Teaching Assistantships and Assistant Instructorships.
The typical pattern of support by means of teaching appointments for students entering the English graduate program with a BA will be:
* 2 years as a TA in the English Department
* 2 years as an AI in the DRW
* 1 year as an AI in the English Department
* 1 year as an AI in the DRW (if funding allows)
The typical pattern of support by means of teaching appointments for students entering the English graduate program with an MA will be:
* 1 year as a TA in the English Department
* 2 years as an AI in the DRW
* 1 year as an AI in the English Department
* 1 year as an AI in the DRW (if funding allows)
If a student receives substantial support (roughly equivalent to the stipend and benefits of a teaching appointment) from a fellowship, this will reduce the number of years of support given to a student by means of teaching appointments. Similarly, the number of years of teaching support will be reduced if a student receives substantial support as an AD or research or editorial fellow.
The continuation of support depends on students (1) remaining in good academic standing, (2) making satisfactory progress in the program, and (3) performing their teaching duties in satisfactory manner. Eligibility for continued support will be established each summer for the subsequent academic year, and a student's support for that year will come entirely from either the English Department or the DRW.
Remaining in good academic standing is defined by the Graduate School as a condition for employment in this way:
* be a degree-seeking graduate student who is making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree without existing conditional admission requirements imposed by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies,
* remain registered for at least nine semester hours of course work in the long semesters (enrollment in three semester hours of course work is required for students holding summer appointments). This does not include enrollment in University Extension courses, and
* maintain at least a 3.0 graduate grade-point average.In addition, the nominee must not have more than
* two grades of X (temporary incomplete), or
* one grade of X and one grade of I (permanent incomplete).
Making satisfactory progress in the program is a matter of meeting the various deadlines described for going through the Qualifying Procedure and passing the Field and Prospectus Examinations. Finally, since all students admitted into the graduate program are expected to serve as TAs or AIs (unless they have been exempted by the Graduate Advisor at the time of their admission), they must successfully execute their professional responsibilities as TAs and AIs.
TA Duties: TAs assist a faculty member in a large lecture section, usually a sophomore-level survey of American, British or World literature, by leading weekly discussion sections, grading student papers, and holding conference hours with students to discuss their papers. In addition to attending each class, TAs meet regularly with their faculty supervisor.
AI Duties: In their first year, AIs teach one section each semester of RHE 306, Rhetoric and Writing. They also serve as consultants 7 hours per week each semester in the Undergraduate Writing Center (UWC). Students in the Computers and English Studies concentration will serve instead during their first year on the staff of the Computer Writing and Research Lab (CWRL), also for 7 hours per week each semester. In their second year, AIs typically teach a writing course in the DRW centered around an approved topic of their choice while continuing to work in either the UWC or CWRL. In their third year, most AIs teach a literature course through the English Department and work in the UWC or CWRL. AIs who teach a fourth year usually return to RHE 306. AIs also have an opportunity to teach computer-assisted courses in at least two of their teaching semesters.