“Academic Apprentice Personnel” is the term applied to registered graduate students who have fulfilled the University’s established criteria for appointment (no more than 50% time) to teaching or research assistantships and for which they are compensated at rates approved annually by the Regents of the University of California. These apprenticeships are intended to provide qualified students with relevant training experience for academic and academic-related careers in teaching and research and to augment limited resources from within the University for graduate
student support. As a matter of University policy, apprentice personnel in both the teaching and research series are considered primarily as students being professionally trained.

Graduate students who are recipients of teaching and research assistantships must meet all registration and enrollment criteria established by the Graduate Council and the department. They must also maintain satisfactory progress throughout their appointments. Please contact the department for details.

Appointments

Teaching Assistants

Teaching assistants are selected on the basis of scholarship and promise as teachers and serve an apprenticeship under the tutelage and supervision of regular faculty members who are responsible for curriculum and instruction in the University.

Applicants whose first language is not English: Please see information on the Test of Oral Proficiency.

Research Assistants

Research assistants are appointed to the title Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) and are selected on the basis of scholastic achievement and promise as creative scholars and serve an apprenticeship under the direction and supervision of a faculty member.

Special Readers

Special readers are advanced graduate students who assist faculty members with the reading and grading of students’ papers and exams, under the guidance and direction of faculty members. Special readers must have taken and received at least a B+ in the course for which they are reading.

For more information or if wish to be considered for one of the above appointments, please consult with your department.

Medical Insurance and Fee Offsets for Academic Apprentice Personnel

Eligible graduate students who serve in teaching assistant, graduate student researcher, tutor, reader, and special reader titles for at least 25% time for an entire academic quarter are eligible to receive paid medical insurance coverage. They are also eligible to receive 100% of the student services and tuition portions of the mandatory fees paid by the University. Qualified GSRs in appointments of at least 45% time for an entire academic quarter may be eligible to receive nonresident tuition remission.