Assistantships

Application form: download UTA Application here (up to date for Summer and Fall 2024; don't use old versions please)

File Upload Locations:

• Be sure to submit them to the correct semester, including the most recent grades:
  • Fall 2024 applications are closed. (must include Spring 2024 grades)
  • Spring 2025 applications are open! - upload your required documents here.
• returning UTAs - please don't use old versions of the form. The first cell has a version number/semester written in it to help you figure out if you need to transfer information over or not.
• see detailed instructions below.

Applications by the deadlines are considered "on time" and will receive equal priority; later applications are absolutely encouraged but will have less priority the later they are submitted.

• Fall applications: due August 1^st
• Spring applications: due January 1^st
• Summer applications: due May 15^th (or Spring degree conferral date, whichever is later). note: summer appointments are far less common. There is also a strong preference for returning UTAs and those who have worked with the course before.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The Computer Science Department invites students of our courses to apply to be Undergraduate Teaching Assistants. Successful applicants will have these specific characteristics:

• have earned good grades in the courses they want to assist (generally, A grades earned at GMU for those courses)
• have a good GPA (3.0 or higher both overall and in CS courses)
• have good communication skills and can act professionally/reliably
• are motivated to assist others and help them learn

First-time applicants need a recommendation by a CS faculty member (get their permission first!). Returning applicants do not need a recommendation.

In order to apply:

• First-time applicants only - find a CS faculty member who is willing to separately send a letter of recommendation on your behalf.
  • They should upload their recomendation in a .txt file to this file professor recommendations request directory. 
• Fill out the uta_application.xlsx form linked above, and rename it "Lastname_Firstname_application.xlsx"
• Include an unofficial transcript (as a pdf) that includes all of your grades on it (wait until the previous semester's grades have posted), naming the file "Lastname_Firstname_transcript.pdf". You can get this on PatriotWeb.
• upload both to the semester-specific folder at the top of this page.

Please note that you must have completed at least one semester at GMU to be considered for an undergraduate teaching assistantship.

The Department of Computer Science is currently accepting applications for Fall 2024 Graduate Teaching Assistant positions on Handshake: https://gmu.joinhandshake.com/. Search for Job #8987972, “Computer Science Graduate Teaching Assistant.”

Applications for GTA positions will be available each semester through Handshake. Positions are posted well in advance of the start of each semester.

• Applicants must have completed at least one semester at GMU and currently hold at least a 3.4 GPA.
• Upload your complete unofficial GMU transcript from PatriotWeb. We are not interested in reviewing transcripts from other institutions.  
• Upload a current resume and a cover letter that details your skills and interest areas.
• Indicate in your cover letter which graduate courses you have already completed with a grade of B or above. Also detail your operating system and programming language experience.
• Please do not re-apply if you are currently a GTA.
• The application will remain open until all positions are filled.
• These positions are fufilled in-person, and cannot be done remotely (online).
• Due to the large number of applications, please do not contact faculty or staff with questions about application status as they will not be answered.

Once you apply, you are not guaranteed an interview. The information you submit in your application will be reviewed and interviews will be conducted only by invitation from a faculty member on the GTA coordinating committee.

Most of our GTA positions go to PhD students, but MS students are often offered positions as well. We seek students who have demonstrated a thorough knowledge of our curriculum. The most frequently successful way to do this is by outstanding performance in the core courses of the MS program. An undergraduate degree in Computer Science is also helpful. Other criteria are considered, including strong knowledge of specific subject matter for courses that need coverage at a particular time.

To be considered for a GTA position, you must not hold any other conflicting paid position during the same semester, either within or outside of GMU, including OPT/CPT appointments.  This includes the case of PhD students who defend their dissertation early in the semester and begin work late in the semester.  

Please note that CS Department policy is more strict in this regard than OIPS, who may inform some students that they are authorized to hold another position alongside a GTA appointment with department approval; the CS Department will not provide this approval.

You must already be accepted in departmental PhD or MS program to apply for an assistantship. However, the department may also offer assistantships to highly qualified PhD candidates as part of accepting those students to the program.

To apply for a CS department graduate research assistantship successfully, read the guidance below carefully.

Some other departments also offer graduate assistantships: for example, you might check with Psychology, Computational Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Krasnow Institute, among many others.

Never ever spam or otherwise canvas the faculty looking for assistantships: word spreads quickly and it significantly reduces your chances of getting a position, as the faculty intensely dislike it.

By far your best chance for getting an RAship, and partcularly a long-term one, is to identify exactly the professor you would like to do research with, take a class of hers and impress her, and then talk to her about what funding options faculty in that area might be able to offer. Faculty offer research assistanships from the limited funds they receive through research grants. These grants are highly treasured by faculty and they will usually offer assistantship positions only to students with enough research skills in their area, and with whom they are comfortable working as collaborators.