Graduate Assistantships
Work assignments of Graduate Assistants are designed to provide preparation for optimal and versatile professional futures inside and outside academia. Our faculty is most supportive of career diversity, especially since an MA or PhD in German Studies can be part of life-long learning goals as well as applicable in a great variety of national and international professional sectors.
Over the span of a graduate career, activities (beyond taking seminars) may include:
- teaching German language and culture courses at the beginning, intermediate and, if possible, advanced levels
- teaching German literature and culture in English
- assisting professors in large lecture courses on topics such as German film, contemporary German culture, intercultural competence, environmental studies and media literacy
- assisting professors with inspiring and productively challenging research or administrative projects
- coordinating our departmental social media and promotion activities
- receiving support from and gaining work experience in other units (for example, Greenhouse Studios, the Human Rights Institute or the Writing Center)
- embarking on internships and more.
In some cases, Graduate Assistants work in teams with other instructors, in other cases, Graduate Assistants determine their own work and projects. In all activities, we welcome responsible and independent thinking as well as innovation and creativity to benefit the overall program.
Through our interdisciplinary networks, some graduate students seize opportunities to expand their work experience in areas specific to their developing expertise or in collaboration with Engineering or Business. Overall, the work experience gathered during graduate studies represents, in addition to the academic qualifications, a pivotal and marketable asset when applying for positions upon graduation.
Tuition will be waived for graduate students who are awarded half or full graduate assistantships, are registered as full-time students (6 credits or more) and maintain a 3.0 grade point average or better.
Mandatory orientations for international students begin in the middle of August.
We support M.A. students in good academic standing up to 2 years, and Ph.D. students in good academic standing up to 5 years.
Contact
For further information and to discuss possible career goals, please email anke.finger@uconn.edu.