GRA and GTA Information
GTA requirements, applications and guidelines
All potential GTAs must apply, whether or not they currently hold a GTA position. Students must be admitted before applying for a GTA position. All GTA promises made during the admission process will be honored, but these students must still apply. Please include an anticipated school schedule and times you are NOT available on the bottom of the application.
Requirements
- GTAs must be authorized to work in the U.S. at the time of hire. On the first day of class, you must have a Social Security card and have passed a background check. Incoming students from outside the U.S. will need to have been in the U.S. for approximately four weeks before the start of classes.*
- You must be available to attend a meeting of all computer science GTAs at 8 a.m. on the first day of classes. GTAs who miss this meeting will lose their position.*
- GTAs must be residents of Manhattan from the first day of class until the end of finals week.
- GTAs must be enrolled for the semester for which they apply by the last day of class of the proceeding semester.
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For those students whose first language is not English, a SPEAK, TOEFL iBT or IELTS score is required. NOTE: The Kansas Board of Regents requires any graduate teaching assistant whose first language is not English to have (i) a minimum score of 50 on the SPEAK test, (ii) 22 on the speaking part of the iBT (Internet based TOEFL) or (iii) a minimum score of 7 on the speaking section of the IELTS (International English Language Test System).
*Exceptions may be made, but only for students traveling on university- and computer science-related business/research. Exceptions will not be made for personal travel.
How to apply
- All students desiring a GTA position for the upcoming semester must submit a GTA Application Form and resume each semester. Students who have not been a GTA must also submit proof of their TOEFL scores. Students holding previous GTA assignments must submit an updated form and resume each semester. Please include an anticipated school schedule and times you are not available.
- Completed applications and resumes should be submitted electronically to cs-gtaapplications@listserv.ksu.edu by Nov. 1 for spring assignments and May 15 for fall assignments.
- To be considered for a GTA position, students must be enrolled for the semester they are applying for. Thus, students must be enrolled by Nov. 1 for spring assignments and May 15 for fall assignments. (Note: New graduate students who are not currently attending K-State are exempt from this requirement; however, they should enroll as soon as possible.)
- Students who have not previously held a GTA assignment and are being considered for a position (as well as some students with previous GTA assignments who are being considered for new courses) may be scheduled for a short interview with the department head or another faculty member.
- Students without a guaranteed GTA position will be notified two weeks prior to the start of classes as to whether they will or will not receive a GTA assignment for the upcoming semester. In rare cases, students may be told they are still in consideration for an assignment with a final determination made no later than the first week of classes.
If you have questions about the process, forms or your status, please email cs-gtaapplications@listserv.ksu.edu or call 785-532-6350.