Guidelines Used in Assigning GATships

1. Budget

-- What number and level of GATships can be supported by the current temporary budget as received by the Department from the higher administration?

2. Appropriateness of Particular GATships to Particular Graduate Students

-- Does the student possess the level of English- (and Russian-, if applicable) language skills for the course in question?

-- Teaching experience: For some courses that require a great deal of independent work and planning on the part of the GAT, prior teaching experience is desirable. For a large course with multiple GATs, it is desirable, if possible, for at least one of the GATs to have had prior experience with this course.

-- To the extent possible, student interests and career plans are taken into account. Every attempt is made, for example, to see that a student interested in a language-teaching career does, in fact, receive experience in the language classroom, preferably at more than one level. Similarly, appropriate accommodations are sought for students planning to write theses in the areas of art, history, etc.

3. Financial Need

-- Is the student already receiving considerable scholarship or other financial support through the Department?

4. Academic Standing

-- Is the student making satisfactory progress toward the degree?

-- How does the student’s GPA compare with those of other prospective GATs?

5. Standing in Program

-- Because we have seen evidence of their work firsthand, continuing students are generally given priority over incoming students.

-- If a student has received departmental support for four semesters, he or she becomes lower in priority for GATships.

6. Program of Study

-- Although it is certainly important for the Department to support graduate students working toward an M.A. in Russian and Slavic Studies, the Department also sometimes awards GATships to students in the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Ph.D. Program. This may involve a multiple-year commitment from both parties, contingent on performance. There are several reasons the Department hires SLAT students:

a. As Ph.D. candidates with a developing specialization in second-language teaching, they often bring valuable expertise and cutting-edge techniques to the classroom.

b. SLAT students need support. SLAT is an interdisciplinary program, without a home department or its own GATships to assign. SLAT is supported in large part by the College of Humanities, and relies on COH departments (such as ours, German Studies, English, etc.) for the support it needs for its students (e.g. GATships).

c. GATships assigned to SLAT students are subsidized (the Department only has to pay half of their salaries). Thus in semesters when the Department budget is not sufficient to cover all courses, GATships to SLAT students are a sort of “two for the price of one” arrangement.