Assistantship Appointments & Other Employment

Graduate Assistantship Policy (copied from the IDP Student Handbook)

All graduate students receive the same basic 12 month stipend which is increased annually in accordance with the state appropriation and Graduate Assistants United (GAU) negotiations.  Payment is biweekly throughout the calendar year.  The IDP provides these stipends from various sources during the student's first year.  At the appropriate time, it then becomes the responsibility of the student's mentor to provide funds for this stipend.  In the event a faculty member cannot temporarily provide a student stipend, the IDP will make every effort along with the mentor to find continuous support for students in good standing.  All assistantships are 1/3-time.  Technically, this requires the students to devote 13 1/3 hours per week to teaching or research activities.  In practice, assistantships provide a mechanism for giving graduate students some level of financial support.  Students are expected to devote most of their time to research of direct relevance to the research of the student's mentor and which will be appropriate for their own Ph.D. dissertation.  There is little connection between the level of financial support the IDP is able to furnish and the time it requires to conduct productive and successful research.  

Additional employment is not allowed while you hold a graduate assistantship in the IDP.  While you are a Graduate Research Assistant, you are forbidden to seek and hold employment outside the University of Florida, except for Reserve or National Guard military duty.  

UF appointments in addition to Graduate Research Assistantships and/or temporary adjustments in salary may be approved on a case-by-case basis for "clearly defined additional duties (such as teaching), or other unusual circumstances", subject to approval by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education.  

Opportunities for IDP students to have such appointments are listed below.  For any such appointment, the student must secure permission from their mentor, by obtaining signatures on an "Application for Supplemental Appointments" form (Word document).  The signed form will be kept on file in the Office of Graduate Education, and photocopies should be provided to the mentor and to the supervisor of the supplemental appointment.  All approvals must be renewed annually.

Harrell Professional Development and Assessment Center Physical Exam Teaching Associates

COM Testing Center Proctors

General Requirements

Students requesting such appointments must be mindful of their research and academic responsibilities.  Concerns that mentors will have will be how well you can manage your time, whether time will be taken away from your research, and possible impact to the overall time it will take for you to finish your PhD degree.  They may be uncomfortable with the possibility of additional activities negatively affecting your research.  You should appreciate that their concerns are about both your degree progress and about the responsibility you share with your mentor to be productive - generating data for grant renewals and publishing papers.  You are part of a research team, so you need to be sure you can meet your responsibilities to your mentor and funding agencies.  You must also continue to fulfill all IDP academic obligations, e.g. scheduling conflicts do not excuse you from attending required IDP courses (including journal clubs and seminars).  IDP courses must be your first priority when it comes to scheduling.  

You must be making good progress in your research!  If you are not getting good feedback from your mentor or Supervisory Committee about your progress, you should ask for it.  You need to be able to manage your time effectively so you can meet your research responsibilities while taking on any additional activity.  

Some opportunities listed above may have additional requirements and/or limitations on eligibility to participate.

Last updated on 8/1/06   wtm