FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF GRADUATE STUDENTS
Graduate assistantships and teaching assistantships are available to qualified graduate students.
Applicants need to complete an application form, including a statement of educational goals,
undergraduate and graduate transcripts (unless they have already been submitted to the Graduate
College), and two completed recommendation forms. Because the competition for financial support
is increasing, applicants should assemble these materials with care.
Download and complete this form, then save it to your hard drive. You will be asked to upload
the form in the online application system. (If you are currently a graduate student in one of the
English Department Graduate Programs, please print out this completed form and have letters
of recommendation sent directly to the department.)
Priority consideration for early awards of financial support is February 1st for Fall appointments, then
continuing until all positions are filled. Assignments will be made during May. Later applicants will
be considered if positions are available.
Please note that we are unable to offer Graduate Teaching Assistant positions for online teaching
assignments—all GTAs teach on the Flagstaff campus. Please also note that we do not offer new
GTA positions that start in the spring semester (since we cannot offer the three-week pre-semester
orientation that precedes the fall semester and the ongoing mentoring through ENG 601, in spring
semesters).
Graduate Assistantships
Department of English
Northern Arizona University
Position Overview
Graduate students who are awarded assistantships receive more than financial support; they also receive extensive
training and experience in teaching English Composition at the college level and in working and consulting in the
Writing Center. In return, graduate assistants bring a variety of skills, backgrounds, and perspectives to the teaching
of composition and to individual consulting sessions.
A graduate teaching assistantship (GTA) in English represents a 20-hour-per-week commitment.
For first-year graduate assistants, this typically involves the following each week:
• Four classroom hours of teaching English 105, NAU's freshman composition course. The curriculum follows a
standard syllabus and is content-based. It incorporates a technological literary component for each section
which is taught in a computer lab (once a week).
• Six hours of regularly scheduled Writing Center instruction, which involves one-an-one tutoring (walk-in and
English 100, our individualized tutoring class), the preparation and presentation of cross-curricular writing
workshops or other projects.
Experienced GTAs teach a second class, usually ENG 205, in lieu of the working in the Writing Center/ENG 100.
Therefore, your first year you will teach ENG 105 and work in the Writing Center/ENG 100. In subsequent years
you will teach ENG 105 plus ENG 205 (six hours of teaching), or possibly another course, as assigned by the
University Writing Program.
The approximate time commitment breakdown:
First-year GTAs
Weekly time
(hours)
Second-Year GTAs
Weekly time (hours)
Teach ENG 105
Office Hours
Writing Center/ENG 100
Preparation / grading
4
Teach ENG 105
Office Hours
4
3
6
7
Teach ENG 205
Preparation /grading
3
2
11
Additional weekly requirements during the first semester include:
• Participation in English 601, a three-credit-hour teaching practicum
This course should be part of, not in addition to, the nine-hour full-time enrollment required of all graduate assistants
each semester.
Prior to teaching, graduate assistants must also participate in:
• A three-week orientation prior to Fall semester and a brief session before Spring semester.
Graduate Assistantships are reviewed on an annual basis, subject to acceptable and satisfactory performance of the duties
listed above and to reasonable progress towards the degree.
APPLICATION FOR A GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP
A complete application includes (1) this form, (2) a 1-2 page discussion of your relevant educational
background and objectives, (3) transcripts of your previous undergraduate and graduate work, and (4)
email addresses for two letters of recommendation.
Please ask your letter writers to address your aptitude for the particular program to which you have
applied as well as to address your potential for successful teaching.
Screening of applications begins February 1st, continuing if necessary until all positions are filled.
For additional information, write or call the Department of English (928) 523-6842.
Name:_____________________________________
Last name
First name
MI
Date:________________________________
Address:____________________________________
Phone_(____)_________________________
_____________________________________
SS#_________________________________
Date of Birth:_________________________(optional) NAU e-mail_____________________@nau.edu
Sex:________________(optional)
TOEFL Score:_________________________
Ethnic Origin (optional)
_______Asian/South Pacific Islander
_______Caucasian
_______American Indian/Alaskan Native
_______Hispanic
_______Black
_______Other
I am applying for a Master of Arts in one of the following areas:
_______ Creative Writing
_______ Secondary English
_______ General program (combining coursework in literature, language, writing)
_______ Rhetoric and the Teaching of Writing
_______ Literature
_______ Teaching English as a Second Language
or, I am applying for:
_______ PhD in Applied Linguistics
I wish to begin my assistantship in Fall 20___
COLLEGE EDUCATION
Begin with last college or university attended:
Institution (s) attended
Degree/Major Approximate GPA
Date From:
Date To:
l._______________________________________________________________________
2._________________________________________________________________
3.___________________________________________________________________
RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE (especially teaching or tutoring)
If more space is needed, attach an extra sheet. Begin with most recent position.
Name of Workplace
and address
Positions held
______Dates______
From
To
l.___________________________________________________________________________
2.____________________________________________________________________________
3.___________________________________________________________________________________
PUBLICATIONS:
(Include titles of any published articles, poetry, short stories, etc. journal, issue, number, date and page
span; or book, press, publisher, date, and page span.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MILITARY SERVICE: (includes dates and final rank)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
REFERENCES: (include name, position, address, and telephone number)
In the online application system, you will be asked to supply contact information (email addresses)
for letters of recommendation. Please ask your letter writers to address your aptitude for the
particular program to which you have applied as well as to address your potential for successful
teaching.
If you are currently enrolled in an English Department Graduate program, please ask your letter
writers to submit letters directly to the Writing Program at Yvette.Schmelzle@nau.edu.
Statement for Graduate Teaching Assistantship
Please attach a 1-2 page or write below a 200-400 word teaching statement which outlines any
experiences and preparation that will allow you to succeed as a graduate assistant teaching in our
English composition program. Since it is possible that several reviewers of this application will not
see your departmental admission file, this Statement for Graduate Assistantship Application will
serve to:
1) illustrate your writing skills.
2) identify any specific professional experiences or preparation that will enable you to
succeed in teaching English composition (you may include any teaching experiences,
tutoring, dorm counseling, writing, editing, or any other work that you think will prepare
you to teach English composition), and
3) articulate the relationship you see between your work as a teaching assistant and your
professional goals as a student in one of our graduate English programs.