Letterhead will be program specific

Date
Name
Address

Dear (NAME):

Congratulations (on your recent admission OR continued success) in the (masters or doctoral) program
in (Program Name)! Upon the recommendation of the (Name Program or Name Department), and with
concurrence of the Dean of the Graduate College (and the Dean of College/School name as appropriate),
we are pleased to offer you a Graduate Assistantship. The details of the position are as follows:

Title(s): Graduate Research Assistant (GRA), Graduate Teaching

Assistant (GTA), Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant
(GTRA), Graduate Advisor (GA)
Length of Assignment: Semester (4.5 Months), Academic Year (9 Months), Full
Year (12 Months), Summer Term (3 Months)
*Start Date: Fall (9/1/20XX), Spring (1/16/20XX), Summer (6/1/20XX)
End Date (Optional): If no end date is listed specify: ‘Your assistantship will be
re-evaluated annually but will not extend past (date).’

Effort Expectation 20 Hours per Week (Full-time), 10 Hours per Week (Half-
Time)
Stipend Amount: Specify. If you are putting in a position with different
amounts for different portions of the year, specify total
and amounts per date portion.

Tuition Scholarship: Minimum is 9 credits per semester (full-time) or 6

credits per semester (half-time). Plus 5 credits in the
summer if funded full-time in the summer as part of a
12-month appointment.
Health Insurance Scholarship: 100% of the Single Student Health Insurance Premium if
full-time, 50% of the Single Student Health Insurance
Premium if half-time
Teaching/Research/Administrative Specify type of duties and add requirements as unit
Duties: wants. For mixed appointments, please specify
percentages of effort for each assignment,
Supervisor:
Funding Source (Optional):
*Academic year stipends will be paid semi-monthly between September 1 20XX, – May 31, 20XX+1; your first
paycheck will be September 15. Your program may require attendance at orientation and training events
related to your assistantship the week prior to the beginning of classes. When that is true, the last week in
May will be devoid of required effort.

(Add total guaranteed support as appropriate): Example below

It is our intention to provide support for up to four years while you complete your doctoral degree. In
the spring or summer before the start of each academic year, you will be notified of your funding source
and responsibilities.

Note that UVM graduate students are required to pay an annual graduate student senate fee and
university comprehensive fee. These fees will be approximately $1,154 per semester for 9 credits. There is
also a comprehensive fee charged per credit over the summer term. For more information, please consult
the Student Financial Services website on Graduate Tuition and Fees.

It is important to note that your continued funding is contingent upon your satisfactory academic
performance (e.g., good academic standing including full time academic year enrollment, a 3.0
(increase if program specific requirement is higher) or higher semester and cumulative GPA) and
satisfactory fulfillment of assistantship responsibilities (see page 3). Graduate Assistants may also be
asked to participate in college or university events, including but not limited to, Admitted Student Visit
Days, research fairs, orientation events, open houses or recruitment trips.

(Insert additional program/college information)

If this is an incoming international student, please add this language:

{The Office of International Education (OIE) will be emailing you a request to log into their system called
iStart to complete online forms. You must follow the deadlines provided by the OIE. OIE will not begin
creating your immigration document until you have completed all required forms by the deadlines
stated in their welcome email. Once completed, processing generally takes 5 business days. After this
point, you will receive pre-arrival information and details of tasks you must complete before arriving at
UVM and in your first days on campus. Please note, international students are expected to attend
International Student Orientation in August prior to the start of classes. When you arrive on campus,
you will apply for a Social Security card and complete the form I-9 so that UVM can begin paying you
once your assistantship begins. You will receive details about this process closer to your arrival.}

We look forward to working with you as a graduate assistant. If you have any questions about the details
of this graduate assistantship, you may contact ________ at __________.

Please review the Assistantship Acceptance Page to understand the expectations of the position as
outlined by the Graduate College. If you accept this offer, please sign, and return the Assistantship
Acceptance Page to ________, via email at ___________. Please inform us in writing of your decision
no later than April 15, 2022. In accordance with the Council of Graduate Schools’ (CGS) resolution, we will
honor this offer until the April 15 deadline, after which point it will be rescinded unless you are informed in
writing that the deadline for a decision has been extended. Although you are under no obligation to accept
this offer prior to April 15, please let us know as soon as you have decided so that we may extend offers to
other prospective students if possible. You may consider other offers of financial support; if you choose to
accept another offer of financial support, you must first resign from your acceptance of our offer, either
before or after April 15.
(Note that the April 15th text must be used for all fall or summer incoming students. It is good practice
for letters for next academic year for current students as well. Modify as appropriate for Spring letters
for new or existing students.)

Sincerely,

________________________________
Department Chair or Program Director

___________________________________
(If grant or start-up fund used, add other signatures as desired)

___________________________________
Dean of College

___________________________________
Dean of Graduate College

Assistantship Acceptance Page

Expectation of Effort for Assistantship Positions: A full-time Graduate Assistantship (GTA/GRA/GA)
carries with it the expectation of 20 hours effort/week in addition to effort required for your course work and
research credits. Without explicit permission from the Dean of the Graduate College, as a funded student you
may not take on additional employment that would result in your working more than an average of 20 hours
compensated effort per week during your assistantship. If you are an international student working on an F-1
or J-1 visa you cannot work over 20 compensated hours per week under any circumstance in the academic
year.

While your letter indicates the length of your assignment, a lack of substantial performance in the position
could lead to termination prior to the listed end date. If your performance is judged inadequate by the
advisor, department or program, you will be informed of the deficiencies and provided with a chance to
respond and reasonable time, opportunity, and support to improve performance, prior to termination of
funding. If you are unable to fulfill the duties of the position, it is your responsibility to notify your supervisor.

GPA and Enrollment Requirement: Graduate Assistants are required to maintain a minimum GPA of
3.0 (as specified in your letter, departmental requirements may be higher than this). Students must be
enrolled in at least 9 credits each semester they are employed as a full-time GTA/GRA/GA (20 hrs/wk effort),
or 5 hours if a half-time GTA/GRA/GA (10 hrs/wk effort). Summer enrollment is not required.

Registration Deadlines: You must register for classes at least one week before the beginning of the first
term that you have your assistantship position. If your assistantship continues into the following semester
you must register for courses at least a week before the end of your current term. Summer registration is not
required for students who have 12-month assistantship positions. However, please be aware that if you are
being paid in the summer and enrolled in less than 5 credits, additional FICA taxes will be taken out of your
paycheck.

Bill Due Dates: You are responsible for covering the balance on your account that is not paid for through
scholarship aid by the due dates determined by the office of Student Financial Services. If you do not cover
the portion of the bill that you are responsible for by the deadline you will be assessed a $250 late fee. You
can find bill due dates by visiting the Student Financial Services Billing and Due Date webpage.

Time Off: In addition to administrative holidays, students on 12-month appointments will receive a
minimum of two weeks of time off and students on academic year appointments will receive a minimum of
one week time off. This time must be arranged with your supervisor and is typically taken during breaks in
the academic calendar or in the summer. Further information can be found on the Guidelines for Funded
Students document.

Insurance: You must elect or waive UVM’s insurance online each academic year by submitting a Student
Health Insurance Decision/Waiver Form.

Work Location: If you are working remotely, you must reside within the 50 US states or Washington
D.C. If you are living outside of Vermont, you must have the approval of your program and advisor to do
so, inform payroll and your department of the address where you are living while holding the
assistantship and update your personal information in Banner with that as your local address.

I accept the offer of the position: Signature __________________________Date___________

I decline this offer: Signature __________________________Date___________

(add Funding Source for department records if desired)