Financial Support

There are a variety of sources of financial assistance available within the Department of Psychology. The most common forms of support are halftime teaching assistantships (academic year and summer) and research assistantships. Typically, a graduate student admitted to our graduate programs with an offer of support will receive a half-time (20 hrs/week), 9-month (academic) assistantship appointment beginning in August 16 and ending in May 15.

Assistantship appointments include tuition waivers and medical insurance as a benefit paid by the University. More information about tuition and expenses can be found at Student Financial Services. Supplemental student insurance is available for family members at a reasonable rate through the University.

Teaching assistantship duties can include serving as an assistant to an instructor of record, being an instructor of record for a lab section, face-to-face course, or online (Global) course, or assisting with grading for multiple courses, or oversight of department make-up exams.

Assistantship Responsibilities

The 9-month assistantship appointment begins August 16 and ends May 15 each academic year. Students should arrive at their relevant WSU campus (Pullman, Spokane, Vancouver) and be available for meetings and any work related to their assistantship during these dates. Students are expected to work on average 20 hours/week over the course of the academic year (8/16-5/15) on assistantship duties, including class holidays, semester breaks, but not University holidays (see the WSU academic calendar for specific dates).

TA/RA appointments require that the student meet the following:

• Become a state of Washington resident within the first semester of admittance to be eligible for an in-state tuition waiver. Out-of-state tuition waivers may be provided during the first year only. Application for residency in the State of Washington should be made at the end of the first year. Carefully read instructions for establishing residency.
• Register for 10 credit hours at least one month before the semester begins and maintain those credit hours throughout the semester.
• Maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.
• Not have outstanding incomplete grades of more than one semester or summer session in duration.
• Complete assigned duties required of the assistantship. Note that some tasks may require working during non-standard business hours (e.g., running a participant through a study protocol in the evening or weekend).