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College of Applied Arts School of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Texas State College of Applied Arts School of Criminal Justice and Criminology Student Resources Graduate Assistant Positions

Graduate Assistant Positions

We have extended the deadline for Fall 2023 GA applications to March 10th at 12:00 p.m. All individuals who have submitted an MSCJ Program application prior to the priority deadline (Feb. 6) will receive priority review.

 

Every year, the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology employs several of its MSCJ students as either Graduate Instructional Assistants (GIA), Graduate Research Assistants (GRA), or Graduate Assistants (GA). 

GIAs provide support with teaching, assisting “teachers of record” with their classes. GIAs usually attend class to familiarize themselves with the course as taught by their assigned instructor, keep attendance records, maintain associated course sites in Canvas, and assist with proctoring, grading, and any other aspects of teaching

GRAs provide support with research. Depending on the project(s) they work on, they may be asked to conduct literature searches/reviews, collect/compile data (sometimes in the field; i.e., outside campus), perform data analyses using various statistical software, among other tasks. GRA positions are scarcer and usually reserved for second-year MSCJ Research Concentration students.

The GA term is used to refer to all graduate assistant positions, but there is a specific GA position where student employees do not support teaching (as GIAs do) or faculty-led research (GRAs), but rather provide research, technical or other assistance to the institution. An example might be a GA whose job is to provide technical support for the School (e.g., installing/updating software, maintaining computer lab, etc.).


As per Graduate College policy, only full-time students can hold graduate assistant positions. In addition to this, GAs must maintain a 3.0 GPA and complete three credit hours of professional development (paid for by the Graduate College).

Graduate assistants at the School of Criminal Justice are employed in the Fall and Spring terms (i.e., no work is available during the Summer term) for 20 hours per week. Because of the requirement they must be enrolled as full-time students (i.e., 40 hours study per week), GAs are strongly advised not to hold outside employment, as this is likely to affect their GA work and, more importantly, their academic performance.

Currently, the School of Criminal Justice employs five GIAs and two GRAs (see 
https://www.cj.txstate.edu/people/graduatestudents.html).

For more information about graduate assistant positions, including salaries and in-state tuition and health insurance eligibility, please visit https://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/funding/assistantships.html.

 

Application Procedure

Interested (prospective) students should apply online by February 1. The following documentation is required:

  • a completed online application;
  • a resumé; and
  • one letter of recommendation (which should be from a different person from the two individuals who wrote letters for your program application).