Student Academic Employment

If your work for the university involves academic research, classroom or laboratory instructional or support duties, tutoring, or other duties that are academic in nature, you should be assigned to a student academic job profile.

These are the Undergraduate Student Academic job profiles:

  • U0066 Tutor (Undergraduate)
  • U0070  Undergraduate Assistant 
  • U0095 Undergraduate Research Assistant

These are the Graduate Student Academic job profiles:

  • G0045 Assistant Instructor
  • G0062 - G0063 Teaching Assistant
  • G0064 Tutor (Graduate)
  • G0065 Academic Assistant
  • G0071 Graduate Assistant
  • G0090 Graduate Research Assistant

These are the Professional Student Academic job profiles:

  • P0066 – Tutor – Professional Student
  • P0067 - Advanced Academic Assistant - Professional Student
  • P0070 - Academic Assistant - Professional Student
  • P0095 – Research Assistant – Professional Student

The compensation rates for student academic titles are established each year by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. In addition, Assistant Instructors, and Teaching Assistants, and Graduate Research Assistants are eligible for a tuition reduction benefit (TRB) related to their student academic employment. The assistance amounts can vary based on the number of hours of the appointment and are paid on a semester basis. The TRB replaces the Tuition Assistance Benefit for AIs and TAs and tuition remission for GRAs.

Students holding academic positions also may be eligible for certain benefits, including resident tuition entitlement and employee insurance benefits for graduate students in academic titles. Further information is available on the Student Employee Benefits page. If you have questions about the assignment process, please contact the HR representative in the department where you work.

This page provides an overview of the minimum enrollment requirements for student jobs. For an overview of the university’s limits on work hours in student positions, please see this summary.

Undergraduate Student Academic Employment

The following guidelines apply to employment in the three undergraduate academic job profiles:

  • To work in an undergraduate academic job title, you must be admitted to the university, be in good academic standing, and meet these additional requirements:
    • To be eligible for fall or spring semester employment, you must be enrolled in at least 12 semester credit hours for that semester.
    • To be eligible for summer employment, you must:
      • Be enrolled in at least 3 semester credit hours during any term of the summer session; OR
      • Have been enrolled during the previous spring semester in at least 12 semester credit hours. You do not have to be enrolled during the summer.
    • For students admitted to UT Austin, University Extension semester-based courses count toward the enrollment requirements if the student is also enrolled in-residence that semester. Self-paced online courses do not count.
  • An exception to the 12-hour enrollment requirement is available for seniors who are on track to graduate during the current academic year and who need fewer than 12 hours per semester to graduate. The hiring department should verify the student’s status and then contact the HR Student Employment Consultant or the Strategic Workforce Solutions Consultant for the department to request an exception. Please provide the student’s name, EID, and number of hours of enrollment.
  • If you have graduated and are no longer a student, you are not eligible to be employed in a undergraduate academic job profile, with the following exceptions:
    • Graduating student employees may remain in their student jobs until the official end of the semester in which they graduate (May 31 for spring, August 31 for summer, January 15 for fall).
    • In addition, if you graduate at the end of the spring semester and were enrolled as a full-time  undergraduate student for the spring semester, you may be employed in an undergraduate academic job until August 31 of the year you graduate.
  • If you are assigned to an undergraduate academic job profile during the fall or spring semester, your total employment in any title at UT Austin may not exceed 20 hours per week. During the summer session, semester breaks (between the day after graduation and the first day of the next semester’s classes), and spring break, you may work up to 40 hours per week, subject to child labor laws if you are under age 18 and, if you have a federal work-study award, subject to the university’s work-study policies. Your hiring department may impose further limits on hours of work for students it employs.
  • All employees in undergraduate academic positions must be paid on an hourly basis.

Graduate Student Academic Employment

For detailed information about graduate student academic employment, please see the Graduate School website. The following are some of the rules that apply to graduate students employed in student academic titles:

  • To work in a graduate academic job profile, you must be currently enrolled in the university, be in good academic standing, be making satisfactory progress toward your graduate degree, and meet these additional requirements:
    • To be eligible for a fall or spring semester assignment, you must be enrolled in at least 9 semester credit hours for that semester.
    • To be eligible for a summer assignment, you must be enrolled in at least 3 semester credit hours during any term of the summer session. The Graduate School has Guidelines for Summer Employment of Graduate Students.
  • A graduate student’s total employment in a student job title at UT Austin may not exceed 20 hours per week during the first two long sessions of graduate study at the university, and 30 hours per week during the subsequent semesters, including summer (for exceptions, see Guidelines for Summer Employment for Graduate Student Employees). During long sessions (fall and spring semesters), international students may not exceed 20 hours per week without the approval of the Texas Global and the graduate dean. For further guidelines on hours of employment, please see the Graduate School website.
  • The following exceptions to the 20/30 rule apply: During a long session in which they are enrolled, graduate students may be employed in student job titles up to a maximum of 40 hours per week during the 5 days of Spring Break, the 30 days of Winter Break, and the end of the spring semester, after the last day of finals.

If you have questions about whether and how you qualify for graduate student academic employment, you may contact the Graduate School.

Professional Student Academic Employment

The following guidelines apply to employment in the four professional academic job profiles:

  • To work in a professional academic job title, you must be admitted to the university, be in good academic standing, and meet these additional requirements:
    • Be admitted to either the PharmD (College of Pharmacy), Law School or Dell Medical School programs.
    • To be eligible for fall or spring semester employment, you must be enrolled in at least 12 semester credit hours for that semester.
    • To be eligible for summer employment, you must:
      • Be enrolled in at least 3 semester credit hours during any term of the summer session; OR
      • Have been enrolled during the previous spring semester in at least 12 semester credit hours. You do not have to be enrolled during the summer.
    • For students admitted to UT Austin, University Extension semester-based courses count toward the enrollment requirements if the student is also enrolled in-residence that semester. Self-paced online courses do not count.
  • An exception to the 12-hour enrollment requirement is available for students who are on track to graduate during the current academic year and who need fewer than 12 hours per semester to graduate. The hiring department should verify the student’s status and then contact the HR Student Employment Consultant or the Strategic Workforce Solutions Consultant for the department to request an exception. Please provide the student’s name, EID, and number of hours of enrollment.
  • If you have graduated and are no longer a student, you are not eligible to be employed in a professional academic job profile, with the following exceptions:
    • Graduating student employees may remain in their student jobs until the official end of the semester in which they graduate (May 31 for spring, August 31 for summer, January 15 for fall).
    • In addition, if you graduate at the end of the spring semester and were enrolled as a full-time student for the spring semester, you may be employed in an undergraduate academic job until August 31 of the year you graduate.
  • If you are assigned to a professional academic job profile during the fall or spring semester, your total employment in any title at UT Austin may not exceed 20 hours per week. During the summer session, semester breaks (between the day after graduation and the first day of the next semester’s classes), and spring break, you may work up to 40 hours per week. Your hiring department may impose further limits on hours of work for students it employs.
  • All employees in professional academic positions must be paid on an hourly basis.
 

Finding a Student Academic Job

If you are a prospective student or are admitted to the university and are looking for a student academic job, you should work with your home department’s HR staff or Graduate Coordinator to find out about academic jobs in the department. Faculty and staff in the departments will know what jobs are available and are in charge of placement in those jobs.

You may also want to check the HireUTexas Job Bank. Student academic jobs may be posted there, along with on-campus and off-campus non-academic jobs. Graduate Students can sign up to get notices using the Graduate Student Campus Jobs Listserv.

University Policies

Here are some of the official university policies relating to student academic titles: