Graduate assistantships in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science are available on a competitive basis. Full-time graduate assistant stipends are $3,750 per semester. Partial assistantships, as well as summer session assistantships, may also be available. Full-time graduate teaching assistants are expected to devote 20 hours weekly to assigned duties. Graduate teaching assistantship duties are a combination of both teaching and faculty research support. Exercise and Sport Science graduate assistants typically provide support to the Department's service program by teaching one semester hour undergraduate activity courses such as: aerobics, basketball, bowling, conditioning, golf, racquetball, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Typically EXSS graduate assistants are assigned to instruct one to four such courses per semester. Additionally most EXSS graduate teaching assistants, depending upon teaching load, are assigned to assist faculty research activities for between one to eight hours weekly. Additionally a limited number of graduate research assistantships are available. Graduate research assistants primarily support data collection and interpretation efforts in the human performance and biomechanics laboratories. Individuals interested in applying for a graduate assistantship in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science should contact:
Dr. Jim Decker
175 Minges Coliseum
Greenville NC 27858-4353
(252) 328-0001
DeckerJ@ecu.edu
East Carolina University is committed to equality of educational opportunity and does not discriminate against applicants, students, or employees based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, or disability. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, which accommodates the needs of individuals with disabilities.
Applications:
Individuals interested in applying for a Department of Exercise and Sport Science graduate assistantship should fill out an Application for Graduate Assistantship. Completed applications should be sent to Dr. Jim Decker, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Exercise and Sport Science at East Carolina University. Completed applications should be returned to Dr. Decker at 175 Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC 27858-4353. Completed applications may also be sent by e-mail to Dr. Decker at deckerj@ecu.edu .
Policies for Graduate Assistantships:
Awards and Assignments Assistantships may only be awarded to enrolled graduate students admitted to programs leading to a graduate degree or a certificate of advanced study at East Carolina University. Assistantship eligibility does not extend to students who have been admitted by the Admission and Retention Committee in either exceptional or high-risk category, non-degree seeking students or undergraduates.
A full-time graduate assistantship (20 hours per week - fall and spring semesters) averages a minimum of $7,500. Graduate assistants should not work more than twenty hours per week during the academic year. Graduate assistants are limited to thirty hours per week in the fall and spring semesters in any combination of appointments -GA/RA/TA, self-help, College Work Study, EPA/SPA. Foreign students are limited to twenty hours per week in Fall and Spring, no exceptions. This is a federal law. During first and second summer sessions, all students are limited to thirty-eight hours per week. Assistantship funds will be allocated based upon each unit's established rate. Units may opt to pay their assistants at lower or higher rates per F.T.E. if they deem it appropriate, and use one source or multiple sources of funds. No three-quarter or higher F.T.E. state employee may hold a graduate assistantship.
Students are ineligible for assistantships if they are not registered by census day. Census day is defined as the day that enrollment is captured and, concurrently, how ECU's funding is awarded. A good rule of thumb to follow is to make sure that anyone on an assistantship is registered on or before the last day to add classes each semester.
In order for graduate assistants to be exempt from FICA tax, they must have a minimum registration of 4 hours for the fall and spring semesters and 3 hours in the summer. If the GA is registered for less then the stated hours FICA will be withheld. Departments paying students from sources other than state appropriated dollars should note that the university's portion of the FICA (7.65%) will be taken form the funding source used to pay the assistantship and should therefore budget accordingly.
Students in a 30-hour program should not receive support for more than six semesters, and those in a 45-hour program should not receive assistantship support for more than nine semesters, this excludes summer sessions.
Teaching assistants assigned primary responsibility for the administration, instruction, and evaluation of students enrolled in courses must have satisfactorily completed a minimum of 18 semester hours of graduate course work in the field in which instruction is given (SACS 18-hour rule). They must also receive in-service training, be under the direct supervision of an experienced faculty member in the field, and be evaluated each semester. The Graduate School requires units to submit a request for exception to hiring non-degree or undergraduate teaching assistants. The unit should submit an e-mail request to Dr. Tom Feldbush requesting the exception and stating that the student has the qualifications for admission to the program and will be admitted. The request should also state whether or not the student meets the 18-hour rule (if they are responsible for a class) and they are being trained and monitored.
Departments must issue a signed contract for each graduate assistant. For teaching assistants the contract must state what course(s) they are teaching, name the individual responsible for the course, name of the supervising faculty, state that the TA has been /will be trained, will be monitored and evaluated, and name the individual responsible for the evaluation. All other assistantship contracts must briefly describe the GA's duties using the description listed in the Graduate Assistant Categories and include the name of the supervising faculty. It is necessary that all units hiring graduate assistants have a copy of the completed contract in the student's personnel file.
Graduate Assistants do not keep time sheets.
