Graduate Student Academic Employment Eligibility & Terms

Student Academic Employment positions provide the single largest source of UC Santa Barbara graduate student support. They also constitute an important aspect of graduate training under faculty guidance.

Graduate Student Academic Employment encompasses the following positions:

• Graduate Student Researcher

• Associate In __

• Teaching Assistant

• Reader

• Tutor/Remedial Tutor

To be eligible for academic employment, graduate students must be:

• Registered in the current quarter in at least 8 units

• In good academic standing as described here and within normative time (department-specific standards) and/or time to degree

• Certified as having language proficiency in spoken English if not the native language

• Appointment or reappointment should be for one year or less

• Graduate students on teaching appointments may not supervise or evaluate other graduate students

• All appointments are limited to a combined 50% time (exceptions can be granted for higher)

Appointments may not exceed 12 quarters of service combined as TAs and/or Associates (exceptions may be granted up to 18 quarters of service)

Appointment of graduate students who have already worked a combined total of 18 quarters as a TA and/or Associate Instructor up to a maximum of 21 quarters per temporary extension of the Chancellor’s authority (see memo from the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs).

The appointment or reappointment of a graduate student to an academic title must be for a period of one year or less. Graduate students holding these academic appointments should be under the direction of a UC Santa Barbara faculty member. Graduate students in teaching appointments may not supervise or evaluate other graduate students. Additional information regarding student academic appointments can be found in Academic Personnel Procedures for UC Santa Barbara (The Red Binder), Section IV: Student Academic Titles.

Students who are appointed to Associate Instructor, Reader, Remedial Tutor, and Teaching Assistant and Graduate Student Researcher titles fall under an agreement between the Regents of the University of California and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), pursuant to the provisions of the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA). See the relevant UC-UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement (ASE Contract; GSR Contract). For questions concerning the contracts, please contact HR-Labor Relations here.

All appointments or combined appointments are limited to 50% time (an average of 20 hours per week) during the academic terms. An exception may be granted by the home department for a graduate student to be compensated for a maximum of 75%; appointments above 75% require Graduate Division approval (see the exception process below). The 50% time restriction will apply without exception for Associates and international students, dependent upon their visa type or country of origin (consult the Office of International Students and Scholars for further information). All continuing students may work 100% time during the summer, provided they were registered and paid fees for the immediately preceding spring quarter.

The total length of time a student may hold any one or a combination of the following titles may not exceed 12 quarters: Teaching Assistant and/or Associate In __. Under special circumstances, an exception may be granted for additional appointments beyond 12 quarters (see the exception process below). Systemwide regulation does not permit graduate student appointment beyond 18 quarters as a Teaching Assistant and/or Associate In __.