Doctoral Financial Support
Eligible full-time (9 semester hours) doctoral students are offered a yearly tuition waiver and an assistantship. This waiver covers only the cost of tuition, and therefore, if you have a tuition waiver, you, the student, will be responsible for paying all other university fees.
At present, our PhD assistantships, which are awarded on a competitive basis to campus students, provide a yearly stipend of $14,000. These assistantships allow graduate students to further their capabilities in composition and grammar by working as tutors in our Writing Studio, to develop their talents in technical writing and editing while working for various journals and offices on campus, to assist professors in their research, or, after completing 18 semester hours of graduate coursework, to teach freshman composition.
Additionally, the University provides health insurance to all full-time PhD students.
IMPORTANT: Please note that the tuition waiver and assistantship stipend are contingent upon funds provided to us by the Graduate School and thus may be subject to change. Additionally, during the tenure of the assistantship, you must be registered as an on-campus student (students enrolling in any distance education courses are not eligible for graduate assistantships or a tuition waiver). Should you be interested in taking a distance education class, talk the Graduate Administrative Assistant.
You are expected to maintain good standing as a doctoral student, perform satisfactorily the duties of the position you are assigned, and always remain professional in your work environment. Each graduate assistant has a unique opportunity to interact with scholars, other advanced students in the field of English, and an unparalleled support staff. Because graduate assistants are a reflection of the English department – both to undergraduate students and their parents as well as to other departments on campus – we expect that you will uphold the high standards of professionalism and the quality work ethic that the department endeavors to convey.
As graduate assistants, you will receive a performance evaluation conducted by your supervising faculty member. Assistantship appointments are renewable each year, and whether you are offered an assistantship is contingent upon your semester evaluation.
Several types of assistantships are available:
For a research assistantship, you assist a faculty member with research projects, which are contingent upon faculty needs.
For an editorial assistantship, you assist with editing and proofing for department-supported publications.
For a teaching assistantship, you must have completed 18 semester hours of graduate coursework in English, including satisfactory completion of English 6625 Composition—Theory and Practice. You teach English Composition to first and/or second year students, with limited opportunities for teaching advanced writing classes. In this assistantship, you are instructor of record for the class with all responsibilities, such as creating assignments for students and evaluating students’ performances.
Be aware that other assistantship opportunities are available outside the department, including opportunities within the Joyner Library and on grant projects, for example.
To receive more information about doctoral support and assistantship opportunities, contact the English Graduate Studies Administrative Assistant, Shannon Cox at (252) 328-6660 or coxs@ecu.edu.
