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Include Graduate Research Assistants/Doctoral Research Assistants in your grant proposals! 

One of the questionnaire topics in the grant submission process in Kuali asks some questions about whether the grant project will employ graduate/doctoral assistants. There’s a reason for that – graduate students can play a meaningful role in an overall grant project team and can provide key support in a wide range of project aspects. Importantly, writing graduate research assistants into a grant proposal provides students with funding, support, and excellent research experiences in their discipline, which is especially important if there is a shortage of university-provided assistantships.                  

Expand FAQ List

    • See information on The Graduate College’s Assistantship web page for full information. Some of the parameters to keep in mind:
    • For out-of-state students, an assistantship allows eligibility for in-state tuition
    • While the assistantship pays a stipend, tuition is not waived and students must still pay tuition out of those (or other) funds; however, see the Doctoral Research Assistant Tuition Incentive Program described below
    • There is a variety of assistantship positions, depending on the focus of the role in the project, including graduate/doctoral research assistant and graduate/doctoral assistant
    • Students holding assistantships must be enrolled as a full-time student
    • UPPS 07.07.06 has important information about graduate student employment.             

  • The following information is from a June 3, 2026 email from Dr. Pranesh Aswath, Provost and Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs, providing information about a new tuition scholarship program for research doctoral students (non-AOP) holding funded, 50% doctoral assistantships (DRA, DTA, DIA, DA). 

    information is also found on The Graduate College website.

     Eligibility Criteria: 

    Effective Fall 2026, current and new research doctoral students who are not in AOP programs and who hold eligible positions: 

    ·         DRA (Doctoral Research Assistant) 

    ·         DIA (Doctoral Instructional Assistant) 

    ·         DTA (Doctoral Teaching Assistant) 

    ·         DA (Doctoral Assistant) 

     Doctoral students must be employed at least 50% time in an active appointment.  

    • Doctoral students holding master's level assistantships will NOT be eligible for the tuition scholarship 

     Tuition Scholarship Coverage Applicability: 

    ·         Covers up to 21 credit hours per academic year 

    ·         Applies only to courses counted toward the doctoral degree 

    ·         Covers only tuition (fees are not included) 

     Academic Standing:  

    ·         Student must be in good standing  

     Duration Limits: 

    ·         Maximum of 3 years of total support  

    ·         This limit does not reset if the student:  

    ·         Changes assistantship type 

    ·         Changes doctoral program 

     Loss of Eligibility: 

    • Students will lose eligibility if they: 

    ·         Resign from their assistantship 

    ·         Are removed from their assistantship position 

    ·         Fall out of good academic standing 

     

    Changes to a division or college’s allotment of funded assistantships must be approved by the Senior Vice Provost and the Dean of The Graduate College. These tuition scholarships will be automatically awarded, i.e., students will not have to apply for them.

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