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English MA Program
Teaching Assistantships
Teaching Assistantships & Other
Teaching Opportunities
We offer a significant number
of Teaching Assistantships each year, which provide excellent teaching
experience and some financial support, as well as health benefits.
The 2002-2003 stipend for a teaching assistant is $8,763 plus a
waiver of tuition; the approximately 90% of quarterly tuition and
fees normally paid by either resident or non-resident graduate students
will be waived for the student awarded a graduate TA. Health benefits
are also available as part of the compensation package. Assistants
teach only one section of English 101, Writing and Critical Inquiry,
each quarter under the guidance of Professor Scott
Stevens, our Director of Composition. We are very proud of the
training and support we offer our TA's, who receive a thorough orientation
before classes begin, take a seminar to acquaint them with practical
and theoretical issues, attend regular staff meetings, and meet
with a teaching mentor. Those awarded a Teaching Assistantship can
normally expect to have the assistantship (subject to satisfactory
performance) for three quarters the first year and to be reappointed
for fall and winter quarters of the following year.
We are also able to offer Alternate
Teaching Assistantships, which provide excellent teaching experience
and guarantee one to three quarters of teaching one section of English
101, with a waiver of tuition for each teaching quarter and a quarterly
stipend of $2,921. The approximately 90%
of quarterly tuition and fees normally paid by either resident or
nonresident graduate students will be waived for the student awarded
a graduate TA. Health benefits are also available as part of the
compensation package
In addition to the English
101 TA positions, second-year graduate students may apply for competitive
positions to assist faculty in teaching literature and creative
writing classes in our Internship program. These Internship teaching
awards come with the same financial support awarded to English 101
TA's.
For those of you interested
in another kind of teaching experience, the Writing Center welcomes
you to apply for an internship as a graduate writing assistant.
As a GWA, you will guide writers from across the disciplines in
all phases of composing. In both face-to-face and online conferences,
you will respond to the needs of writers and their drafts by offering
reader response and by providing process and proofreading strategies.
The fall quarter internship will include an instructional seminar
along with the ongoing practicum. If you are interested in a position,
you may apply as soon as you are admitted but no later than September
16. To request a job description and application, contact Roberta
Buck, Writing Center Coordinator, 360-650-7338, roberta.buck@wwu.edu.
Guidelines
for Teaching Assistantships and Financial Aid
- Applicants not yet enrolled will find applications
for assistantships in the admissions packet.
- Applicants for assistantships who have previous
teaching experience should make every effort to provide letters
of recommendation concerning such teaching. Prior teaching
experience is not a prerequisite for a teaching assistantship.
- The annual stipend for a teaching assistantship
is $8,763 plus a tuition waiver for three quarters as well as
important professional training. Assistants normally teach one
section per quarter of English 101, Writing and Critical Inquiry
(freshman composition), a four-credit course. All assistants teach
under the supervision of the Director of Composition and are required
to attend an initial orientation workshop and to take English
513 (5 credits), a seminar in teaching college composition. It
is currently offered during the Fall quarter.
- Students receiving these appointments are
required to carry a minimum of 8 credits per quarter and a maximum
of 14 credits under advisement.
- If you are awarded a teaching assistantship
as an entering student you can normally expect to have the assistantship
(subject to satisfactory performance) for three quarters the first
year and to be reappointed for Fall and Winter quarters of the
following year. At the end of the first year the Graduate Studies
Committee will evaluate your academic work and teaching. Your
reappointment is dependent on this evaluation and on the availability
of funds. Reappointment for two more quarters is the typical pattern.
- If you are identified as an alternate
teaching assistant, you must take English 513 in Fall quarter
to qualify for appointment as a teaching assistant when openings
become available. Alternate teaching assistants can typically
expect to be appointed for one to three quarters of teaching during
the course of their studies. A teaching assistant appointment
includes an approximate stipend of $2,921 plus a tuition waiver
per quarter.
- Our funding for teaching assistantships is
limited. If you have applied for an assistantship and not been
identified as an alternate by the beginning of the school year,
it is rare that you will have an opportunity for an assistantship
teaching composition--although limited possibilities are available
for internships with stipends teaching creative writing, literature,
and linguistics. Other opportunities for financial aid and on-campus
work include work study (available for in-state students who qualify),
a limited number of modest scholarships that can be applied toward
tuition, and student loans (contact the Office
of Student Financial Resources, (360) 650-3470).
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