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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 2009-2010
stipend for a teaching assistant is approximately
$10,600 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 approximately $3,500.
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 pending availability of funds.
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 Kjesrud, Writing Center Coordinator,
360-650-7338, Roberta.Kjesrud@wwu.edu.
- 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 approximately $10,600 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 five-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 approximately $3,500
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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