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Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs Graduate Division
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Graduate Student Support Eligibility

Graduate student appointments may be for a maximum of 50% time (20 hours per week) during the academic year. During the summer (mid-June to mid-September), some departments allow appointments up to 100% time. Before accepting a position outside your own department, you must obtain the approval of your graduate department support coordinator.

Graduate students must meet the basic qualifications as follows: 

  1.  Full-time enrollment (12 units or more) is required for students in 50% time appointments. Students enrolled in less than 12 units are eligible for up to a 25% time appointment with the approval of the student’s department.

  2. Be in good academic standing, i.e.,

    1. Meet departmental standards including a satisfactory spring evaluation;

    2. Maintain a GPA of 3.0 in upper-division and graduate course work; 

    3. Must not have accumulated more than a total of eight units of F and/or U grades overall.

  3. Be within departmental support time limit:

    1. Ph.D. and D.M.A. Degree Aim: Every student has three time limits within the department. These are: pre-candidacy, support, and registered time.  A doctoral student must advance to candidacy by the Pre-candidacy Time Limit (PCTL) and also be within the Support Time Limit (SUTL) to remain eligible for campus employment or to receive other University funds.   In addition, no one may be employed as a Teaching Assistant and/or Associate for more than 18 quarters.

    2. M.A., M.Eng., and M.S. Degree Aim: Eligible for 7 quarters of support.

    3. M.F.A. and M.P.I.A. Degree Aim: Eligible for 10 quarters of support.  

  4. International graduate students who are nonnative speakers of English must be certified as having requisite language skills before they can serve as teaching assistants. This English language policy does not apply to a student who serves as a TA which is conducted in his/her native language. For further information, contact the English Language Program for International Instructors (ELP-ii) at (858) 246-0628.