Graduate Assistantships

St. Cloud State typically offers more than 200 graduate assistantships each year. Graduate assistantships are academically-related employment appointments reserved for graduate students.

• Program assistants provide administrative support to academic and student service units.
• Research assistants do research and activities in collaboration with a department or professor.
• Teaching assistants work in classrooms under the supervision of a professor.

This page contains selected polices related to graduate assistantships at St. Cloud State. For more information on graduate assistantships, visit the Assistantships and Finances page.

Eligibility

A student must be admitted to the School of Graduate Studies and be registered full-time (8 credits) each term of the appointment. International students, U.S. citizens and U.S. residents in campus-based master's and doctoral programs are eligible to apply.

Students admitted to online, accelerated master's programs (MBA, EDAD M.S.), certificate programs, or receiving a language admission are not eligible for graduate assistantships.

Benefits

All graduate assistants will be eligible for the following benefits:

Salary

The university's administration sets pay rates. Stipends are subject to change and are dependent on the hours of assignment and the length of the appointment, as noted below.

Graduate assistants must be enrolled full-time, which is eight master's credits or six doctoral credits per semester. Both assistantships will receive tuition remission at the graduate level (master's credits) rate, $536.82 for the 2024-2025 Academic Year. A stipend is earned as income and subject to federal and state taxes.

**International Students please note that the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) regulations require that international master's students take a full-time load of eight credits per semester regardless of appointment hours. International doctoral students are considered full time at 6 doctoral credits. 

Tuition Remission

Both full and part-time master's level graduate assistants, in addition to a salary/stipend, are eligible for a partial tuition remission for graduate (5xx/6xx) level credits as indicated by the appointment level.  Doctoral students are required to enroll in 6 doctoral level credits (7xx/8xx). Doctoral students will get 6 (half-time) or 8 (full-time) master's credits (5xx/6xx) for tuition remission at the in-state, on-campus rate.

Tuition remission is available to graduate assistants during the academic year. Tuition remission is considered to be earnings and is therefore subject to FICA plus State and Federal tax withholding. The schedule above outlines the amount of tuition remission available. A student must be at least a half-time graduate assistant, i.e., working 10 hours per week, to qualify for tuition remission.

All student fees, other than tuition, must be paid by the student. Tuition assistance is computed only for graduate credits (5xx/6xx) courses, and no tuition waiver is awarded for graduate courses enrolled in after the tenth class day of each semester. Tuition remission is applied at the in-state standard graduate rate only. Graduate tuition remission will not fully cover market rate tuition, online or hybrid course rates or any tuition charged beyond the standard graduate rate.

NOTE:

• Tuition remission is only available during Fall and Spring semesters.
• Tuition remission does not pay required or optional student fees.
• Undergraduate preparation courses are not eligible for graduate assistantship tuition benefit.
• Tuition remission cannot be applied to accelerated online courses with sections 70, 71 or higher. 

Resident Rate Privilege

All graduate assistants, international, and U.S. citizens and residents qualify for in-state tuition rates. Graduate assistants will find the in-state rate credited on their fee statement as a "MN RATE Tuition Scholarship." Note: The in-state tuition rate does not apply to market-rate programs (MBA, MEM/EMEM, ACR, MTQ, RAS, doctoral programs).

International students

Students who received and accepted a graduate assistantship appointment, fully signed by the School of Graduate Studies and the sponsoring department, may include the assistantship stipend as income on their financial certification form. A student will also need their graduate assistantship appointment letter when they apply for their visa.

Securing an Assistantship

Graduate assistantships at St. Cloud State are competitive and based on the qualifications of the applicant and the availability of funding. Undergraduate GPA, pertinent experience, test scores, letters of recommendation, educational preparation or appropriate combinations of these factors are considered in the appointment process.

Students interested in securing a graduate assistantship should apply directly to the department, graduate director or service units to be considered for employment. Students will be encouraged to submit a cover letter indicating their interest and skills, résumé, references, and unofficial transcripts, if requested. Departments and administrative offices will generally invite the student to interview for the graduate assistantship position in person, by phone or E-mail. All applicants for a graduate assistantship are required to have been admitted to a campus-based master's or doctoral degree program. All GA contracts are subject to the approval of the School of Graduate Studies.

Graduate assistantships are posted through the St. Cloud State Career Center. Admitted graduate students will need to:

• Activate their StarID
• Register with the Career Center

Pre-admitted students will not yet have a Star ID but can view posted graduate assistant positions as a PDF document.

Resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States

Acceptance of an offer of financial aid (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by an enrolled or prospective graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. When a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw, the student may submit a written resignation for the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment was made. Similarly, an offer made by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of a written release from any previously accepted offer. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to this resolution that a copy of the resolution should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer. A copy of the resolution is available from the Council of Graduate Schools.