Graduate Assistantships
Benefits
Graduate assistantships appointed at 33% or higher in a single appointment (>13 hours/week) provide multiple benefits:
- monthly stipend;
- remission* of both resident and non-resident tuition (students will still need to pay segregated fees, roughly $726/semester); and
- eligibility for health insurance (health insurance options for a reasonable premium are among the country’s best group health insurance plans), with appointments of at least a full semester (for academic year positions) or six months (for annual positions).
*Graduate students enrolled in service-based pricing programs, such as online and accelerated programs, are ineligible to receive tuition remission.
Student employees paid on an hourly basis are not eligible for the graduate benefits package.
Graduate students should consult with their graduate programs and read their admission and appointment letters carefully to understand their benefits eligibility.
Skill development
Students also gain valuable skills through assistantship roles. This work may apply directly to their career goals or build broad, transferable skills in areas like communication, teamwork, and leadership.
On this page
Through this position, I have developed a broad understanding of higher education issues… and continued to strengthen my applied analytical and technical skills.
Stipends
UW–Madison sets minimum stipend rates for graduate assistantships every year. Many programs offer stipends above the minimum to remain competitive in attracting top graduate students.
2026-27 minimum stipend levels
Teaching assistantship
Academic: $30,614
Lecturer Student Assistant
Academic: $33,574
Project assistantship
Annual: $37,417
Academic: $30,614
Research assistantship
Annual: $37,417
Academic: $30,614
PA grader/reader
Hourly rate: $29.83
University fellowships (100% appointment)
Annual: $37,417
Academic: $30,614
Assistantship stipends by program
Graduate programs may adjust stipend amounts above the campus minimum to remain competitive in attracting top students. The Graduate School reviews, approves, and posts program rates annually.
Which rate should I expect to receive?
- Research assistants: The program in which you are enrolled.
- Teaching and project assistants: The program in which you are employed.
Investing in graduate assistants
UW–Madison, through internal, extramural, and gift funding sources, supports over 5,400 graduate students – including 71% of doctoral students – through graduate assistantship appointments. The university’s continued investment in graduate students has resulted in minimum stipend levels at or above the peer institution median.
In the news
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UW–Madison minimum graduate assistant stipends to increase by 5 percent
Minimum stipends for graduate student teaching, research, and project assistantship appointments will increase by 5% for 2026-27, continuing UW–Madison’s commitment to investing in graduate assistantships. The new minimums for graduate assistants appointed…
Four years of graduate assistantship minimum stipend increases planned
March 21, 2024
UW–Madison has committed to increasing minimum graduate assistant stipends for the next four years in a forecasting plan, which emphasizes factors that are critical to student success: tuition remission, health and dental insurance benefits, paid vacation and sick leave, and mentorship training. The new approach gives students, principal investigators, departments, programs, schools, and colleges the ability to budget for increases to minimum stipends several years into the future.
Types of Assistantships
Teaching assistantships
Instructional positions that include such duties as lecturing, grading papers, supervising laboratories, leading discussion sections, or developing course curriculum
Project assistantships
Project-related assignments such as coordinating programs, organizing events, analyzing data, or supporting student services
Research assistantships
Research under the guidance of a faculty member that supports your education and training
How to Find Graduate Assistantships
The vast majority of graduate assistantship positions are not posted publicly or available to all graduate students. Instead, they are “owned” by particular graduate programs and are reserved for students in those programs. Programs use their own internal processes to award assistantships to students. Contact your program to find out how they award assistantships.
A smaller number of graduate assistant positions are not reserved for students in particular programs, and any graduate student can apply for those positions. Generally, the positions are posted relatively close to the time they will start, so positions that start in the fall semester will usually be posted in late spring semester, or even July and August.
Employment Policies
Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
The Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures (GAPP) outline employment-related practices for teaching assistants, research assistants, and project assistants.
Maximum appointment levels
University policy restricts appointment levels for graduate assistants as well as fellows, trainees, and staff who are enrolled as graduate students. The levels established by the university are maximums, not minimums or expected levels.
Concurrent appointments for fellows and trainees
Concurrent appointments describes a situation where a graduate student holds multiple appointments as a fellow, trainee, and/or graduate assistant. Federal agencies, non-federal donors, and the university place limits on multiple appointments for fellows and trainees.
Teaching Assistant Orientation and Training
Many programs offer specialized Teaching Assistant (TA) training the week before classes begin. Other programs offer teaching methods seminars for their TAs. Some schools and colleges offer TA orientation sessions (typically during orientation week in August). Students should contact their program’s graduate coordinator or payroll representative for more information.
Letters and Science TA Training
Letters and Science TAs should watch for information from the L&S TA Training & Support Team.
Engineering TA Training
College of Engineering TAs should look for information from the Collaborative for Engineering Education and Teaching Effectiveness.
International Student TA Training
The International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Training Program, coordinated by the Global English Language Learning and Teaching Program, helps non-native English speaking TAs (or potential TAs) improve their oral communication and classroom teaching skills.
UW–Madison Teaching Assistant Guide
Whether you are a new or returning TA, the Teaching Assistant Guide will help you navigate essential trainings, find professional development opportunities, and get support with situations you may encounter while teaching. The guide is a collaboration between UW–Madison’s two largest TA-employing colleges – Engineering and Letters & Science – and the Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring.
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