Graduate Assistantships

After a student is admitted into a graduate program, they are eligible to apply for a graduate assistant position. Once eligible, students will apply for a GA position through FriarHub. 

The GA process is competitive, and a student may have applied to more than one department. A student’s degree must relate to the duties and responsibilities associated with the GA position. Therefore, as a supervisor, you may not be able to consider every student your applicant pool. Supervisors may not make offers of GA positions to students who have not yet applied or been accepted into graduate programs. 

There are a limited number of GA positions available to students who plan to pursue their graduate studies on a full-time basis (9 + credits per semester). This also depends on the number of vacancies created by current GAs who are graduating. Graduation notifications are available at the end of October and beginning of February.  

9-month positions (academic year) cover the cost of tuition for 3 (minimum) or 4 (maximum) classes in the fall and spring semesters and up to 2 classes in the winter session, but do not cover the cost of Maymester or summer session classes. *This tuition assistance policy is applicable through the 2024/25 academic year and is subject to change in the future.*

12-month positions (calendar year) provide tuition remission for 3 (minimum) or 4 (maximum) classes in the fall and spring semesters, up to 2 classes in the winter session, and 1 (minimum) or 2 (maximum) classes total across the two summer sessions and Maymester. Due to an abbreviated Winter 2025 term, students in 12-month positions will be permitted to take up to three courses in summer sessions during Summer 2025. 

Creating a posting, reviewing and managing applications, and hiring is all done through the FriarHub platform.

If a student has accepted your GA offer, you must first complete a Graduate Assistant Hiring Notification Form.

A welcome letter will be generated and sent out by the Office of Graduate Admission that confirms the position, hiring supervisor, hourly commitment and stipend compensation. The letter will also contain some brief policies and provide a web link where the student can obtain/print the packet of paperwork required. 

Keep in mind that assistantships are not automatically renewed for a second year. If you have any performance concerns or the student is not meeting academic progress, you should communicate your concerns to the Office of Graduate Admission. The decision to rehire for a second year is jointly made by the supervisor and the academic program director. 

Once a student has accepted your GA offer, you must first complete a GA Hiring Notification Form (found in the resources below). This form includes the start/hire date.

For graduation end date or position resignation/termination, you must complete a Change of Status Form (also found below).

Required student paperwork can be found below under “Resources for Students.”

In a student’s final semester as a graduate assistant, they are not required to take 3 classes if they have fewer than 3 required courses left. Students can take as little as one class if that is all they have left to complete their program. 

Relatedly, free elective courses are not covered by the tuition remission package. So, if required to take an elective as part of their program, that course will be covered, but students who opt to take a course that does not fulfill a requirement in the program will have to cover tuition on their own. 

A graduate assistant must be full-time (i.e. 9+ credits) each semester. The only exception is in the final semester (see above). 

If a student drops below a 3.0 cumulative GPA in 9 credits they must end their assistantship immediately. It is also a possibility that tuition remission could be prorated or rescinded entirely. 

The Office of Graduate Admission will monitor enrollment for all GAs. 

Once a student is hired, they cannot begin taking classes or working until their undergraduate degree is conferred and all their paperwork is formally processed.  Supervisors, therefore, need to plan ahead in their hiring. 

Start Dates: 

Fall: Monday, one week before classes commence 

Spring: Monday, one week before classes commence 

Summer I: First day of classes 

Summer II: First day of classes 

A 9-month position begins one week before the start of fall classes and a 12-month position begins no sooner than the first workday after the College’s May graduation, no exceptions.

Finally, since many colleges do not confer their undergraduate degrees well into the summer, GAs in a 12-month position may not be able to start courses until the second summer session, and they cannot start working until their undergraduate degree has been conferred. 

Graduate Assistants follow the same holiday schedule as PC staff: Labor Day, Columbus Day, Wed/Thurs/Fri of Thanksgiving week, MLK Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4, and Juneteenth are all days off. There is a GA calendar available in the resource section below.

Additionally, Graduate Assistants have a winter break beginning at the end of finals, with a return to work in January (Monday after Christmas break).  Finally, Graduate Assistants do not work on Good Friday and Easter Monday. 

Please note that Graduate Assistants are not required to make up hours that they do not work due to a holiday or weather cancellation. 

Graduate Assistants are only allowed, by federal regulation and College policy, to work an average of 20 hours per week. By federal definition, 20 hours per week is a monthly average. Supervisors should not be putting GAs in a position of being in violation of these regulations.  

The college observes holidays and there is no exception for Graduate Assistants to work on holidays. Please see the GA Holiday Schedule. 

Graduate Assistants are required to take at least a 30 minute break (unpaid) when performing 8 consecutive hours of work. Lunch breaks are not part of the 20-hour work week.   

Graduate Assistants should not be working more than 8 hours a day. 

International graduate students are restricted by law to a maximum of 20 hours per week.  

Graduate students are considered students first and employees second. Therefore, a graduate student’s coursework should take priority over GA position responsibilities. Students should not miss class to fulfill a work responsibility, and supervisors should not request that they miss class for work or adjust class schedules to fulfill responsibilities. 

If access to forms/screens is required, you will need to reach out to the form owner and request permission. 

The form owner will work with IT to grant access and follow up when the request has been approved. 

The last day a 9-month GA can work in your department (in their first or second year) is the last working day before graduation. 

Students in the second year of a 12-month GA will automatically have a termination date of the last working day before graduation. 

A 9-month position will be automatically placed on hiatus (the last working day before graduation) after their first year to stop the stipend from paying out over the summer. 

GAs may request their job description from you at any time. You may also access the position posting in FriarHub. Supervisors are responsible for updating the position description every time the position is renewed and posted. Please remember to double check that the academic year is correct. 

GAs are paid on a bi-weekly basis. Therefore, each check will reflect 40 hours worked. 

Contact the Payroll Office for the payroll schedule. 

A student’s first check will be prorated if their start date is anything other than the first day of the pay period. 

All courses eligible for tuition assistance must be required as part of a student’s degree program. Classes not required for degree completion (pass/fail, audit, or non-required SCE classes) are not eligible for tuition remission. 

Tuition assistance begins no sooner than the position start date or the first day of the semester, whichever is first and ends when the student leaves their program of study or completes their degree requirements.  

Students will need to pay out of pocket for any classes taken that are outside of the above parameters. 

Also, GA tuition assistance does not cover any classes that a student may need to take to complete degree requirements after the two-year GA eligibility concludes. For example, for a student completing a 9 or 12-month GA in May but needing to take a few more classes to complete degree requirements in the summer, those classes will not have  tuition benefits. 

Questions related to the processing of hiring paperwork (i.e. I-9 & W4’s) should be directed to the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@providence.edu or x2286. 

Questions related to a paycheck & W4’s should be direct to the Payroll Department at x2285.