Teaching and Research Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships

English graduate students gain valuable experience as teaching assistants (TAs). TAs do not teach in the first semester of employment, during which they participate in a training program to prepare them to teach a freshmen composition course. TA training activities include a workshop at the beginning of the fall semester taught by the director of composition, a seminar on teaching, apprenticeships under direct supervision of the director of composition, in-service mentoring and colleague supervision throughout the term of appointment, as well as supervised experience in special instructional areas (including the Writing Lab).

During the second semester, TAs are given full responsibility for teaching two sections of freshman composition, and afterward teach three sections per year. While most assignments are freshman writing courses, many experienced TAs will have the opportunity to teach in other areas as well, including advanced composition, literature, linguistics, technical writing, basic writing, and in multi-cultural World Civilization and ESL courses. Regular TAs (20 hours per week) are awarded to new and continuing graduate students on a competitive basis.

Stipends come with full tuition waivers (including health insurance) for the academic year. If you complete your graduate application online, you will have automatically indicated that you seek a Teaching Assistantship. To learn more about financial aid and costs, please visit the Graduate School Finance page or contact the department’s Director of Graduate Studies or Academic Coordinator.

Jon Hegglund
Director of Graduate Studies
English Department P.O. Box 645020 Pullman, WA 99164-5020 USA
509-335-6820
hegglund@wsu.edu

Research Assistantships

Research Assistant positions give students opportunities to work closely with faculty in ongoing research and scholarly projects, including the editing and production of the department’s scholarly journals, the preparation of textual editions, and research in writing pedagogy, including computer-assisted instruction. The number and nature of RA positions vary from year to year.