The following qualifying requirements apply to all graduate assistantship appointments:

1. Graduate students who are unconditionally (regular) or conditionally admitted to the University are eligible for assistantships.
2. In order to hold an assistantship, generally a student must maintain a B average grade (3.0 GPA).
3. A conditionally admitted student whose graduate GPA falls below 3.0 at any time during their conditional status will not be allowed to hold a teaching assistantship. They may hold a research or administrative assistantship.
4. Students must be admitted to Graduate School as a degree candidate; those admitted to non-degree studies cannot be appointed to an assistantship.
5. Students on academic warning (formerly called probation) may not hold an assistantship. A graduate student with regular or conditional status who drops below a “B” average (3.000 GPA) will automatically be placed on probation but only after at least 12 semester hours have been completed.
6. Students must be enrolled in classes during the semester(s) for which they are appointed, except for the interim and/or summer semesters.
7. A signed Memorandum of Appointment must support every appointment and reappointment.

The Dean of the Graduate School may allow an exception on a case-by-case basis only upon written application from the Department Head. The types of graduate assistants and the relevant qualifications for each are discussed in later sections. The classes enrollment requirement is waived for summer school, however other restrictions apply - please see later sections.

Requirements to maintain a B grade average will apply to students with unconditional (regular) admission status only after earning 12 semester hours. (The former policy placed an unconditionally admitted student on academic warning after as few as 6 semester hours.)

Students with conditional admission status, in addition to students with regular admission, may hold any type of assistantship i.e. the B average grade requirement does not apply whilst they are on conditional status. All other conditions apply. However, a graduate teaching assistant holding conditional admission status who obtains a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0 prior to meeting the condition of admission will not be allowed to retain the teaching assistantship during the next term of enrollment. For example, if a conditional admit takes nine credits during the first semester of enrollment and obtains a 2.5 GPA that student may continue to take courses to meet the condition (a 3.0 average on the first 12 hours), but will not be allowed to retain the teaching assistantship. The student would be permitted to hold a research assistantship.

Students who have not yet earned a baccalaureate, even if they are participating in programs such as the University Scholars Program, are not allowed to hold graduate assistantships.

All non-native speakers of English must successfully complete the University’s International Teaching Assistant Program (ITAP) before they can hold a teaching assistantship.

Students who have provisional language admission are eligible to hold only externally funded research assistantships; they may not hold any type of teaching assistantship or internally funded research assistantship until the language provision has been removed.

For more information about international graduate student status and assistantships contact the Office of International Graduate Admissions, Box 870118, 101A Rose Administration, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0118 (205 348 5921).