Graduate Teaching Assistantships

Each year, the Department of English offers a limited number of Teaching Assistantships to graduate students. To be eligible, for a Teaching Assistantship, a candidate much apply for one of the Literature Options, the Composition, Language and Rhetoric Option, or the TESOL Option. Any applicant who wishes to be considered for an Assistantship merely checks the appropriate box on the submitted M.A. in English Application Form and must take the GRE (General Test) for the qualifying exam. The deadline for submission of applications for those seeking such consideration is March 15 for students who hope to enroll for the following Fall semester.

The English Department Graduate Committee will review the application materials of those requesting consideration as Teaching Assistants, will rank the credentials and supporting materials of those applicants, will interview (either in person or by phone) the highest ranking candidates, and ask for an "impromptu" writing sample from each.

Salisbury University has a strong institutional commitment to diversity and is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, providing equal employment and educational opportunities to all those qualified, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, or sexual orientation.

Rewards and Responsibilities of the Teaching Assistant

Successful candidates who are offered and accept Teaching Assistantships will receive a yearly stipend of $10,250 as well as a full tuition waiver (exclusive of fees). Assistantships are usually renewed for the second year of study, for a maximum of two years. Teaching Assistants must enroll for a minimum of six (6) credits per semester, and the tuition waiver will cover a maximum of 18 credits per academic year (and only for courses applicable toward the M.A. in English requirements).

In addition to taking courses, each Teaching Assistant will be responsible for teaching three sections of ENGL 103 Composition and Research during the academic year. Usually first year Teaching Assistants teach one section of ENGL 103 during Fall semester and two sections of ENGL 103 during Spring semester. In the second year, that work load is usually reversed--two sections in Fall and one in the Spring.

Working approximately twenty (20) hours per week during four semesters under the Teaching Assistant Supervisor should provide a usefully varied and valuable apprenticeship for a career in teaching. Mentoring by the supervisor includes pre-semester training and guidance sessions, regular weekly meetings, grading sessions, classroom observations, and other strategies to provide the most beneficial guidance for the assistant.