Graduate Assistantships

Graduate assistantships at MTSU pay tuition costs and a stipend of $14,000 per year.
Assistantships are awarded for full-time study on the basis of academic merit.

Application Process for Graduate Assistantships in Literacy Studies.

Applicants wishing to be considered for a graduate assistantship, in addition to supplying the materials for general application (including a general application form), must fill out the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) and an application for an assistantship. The graduate assistantship application form may be found at the back of the Graduate Catalog as well as at the College of Graduate Studies website: http://frank.mtsu.edu/~graduate/pdf/GraduateAsstApp.pdf.

Merit Based Awards

Applications will be awarded by merit. The merit of applications will be judged based on students’ grades, GRE scores, letters of reference, and skills that students have developed in prior graduate study and professional experience.

Term of Assistantships

Full-time students entering the literacy studies doctorate may apply for up to three years of support through an assistantship. The three year limit is an appropriate amount of time for full-time students to complete a 60 hour degree program. Students who have been taking courses on a part-time basis may apply for support that is proportional to the number of credits remaining to be completed. For instance, a student who has completed 21 of 60 credits may apply for no more than two years of full-time support.

Termination of Assistantships

Students who are awarded an assistantship will typically receive all three years of support, unless their academic performance or performance of duties within the assistantship warrants termination. The MTSU College of Graduate Studies specifies that retaining support is dependent on maintaining a 3.25 cumulative GPA in graduate courses.

To be a candidate for the graduate research assistant position, please submit your application materials to the following address:

Literacy Studies Graduate Program Director
MTSU Box 397
Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Application Materials due by:

March 1 (Summer/Fall Semesters)
September 30 (Spring Semester)

For further information about Graduate Assistantships, please view the following links:

Ph.D. in Literacy Studies

Graduate Assistantships