Graduate Student Appointments
The School is committed to ensuring that a student has 12 months of support throughout the first six years of their graduate career, provided that the student continues to make satisfactory progress toward their degree. While some students have their own fellowship support or are supported by a UW-administered fellowship, support for graduate studies in Oceanography is most frequently provided by either a Research Assistantship (RA) or Teaching Assistantship (TA). The School will ensure that students with external fellowships have 12 months of support for a total of six years in residence upon completion of the fellowship support. All oceanography students are required to TA at least twice in their graduate career, and many accept additional TA appointments. During the first year, support is most likely to be in the form of an RA. Appointments of academic student employees (ASEs) at UW are covered by a contract with the UAW that controls wages and working conditions and provides a mechanism for resolving employment-related grievances. More information on this contract can be found at UAW contract. A few salient points are covered below.
The UAW contract sets the workload for a half-time ASE at 220 hours per quarter. If assigned duties cannot be completed within this limit, an ASE has the responsibility to notify the supervisor so that the problem can be resolved. With proper notice, an ASE is entitled to various forms of leave (sick, bereavement, jury duty). An ASE is also allowed vacation, but this time must be arranged in advance with the supervisor (Article 32 of the contract). Your supervisor will discuss your responsibilities as an ASE with you, and in accord with the UAW contract this information will be documented in writing.
Research Assistantships. At its best, RA support is an efficient tool for getting research done, and a graduate degree completed. Often there will be no specific work assigned and so the activities that a student undertakes for Ocean 600 or Ocean 800 credit will be of the same nature as the work performed by the same student in their role as an ASE.
Teaching Assistantships. One of the School’s requirements prior to completing a Ph.D. is that the student must have completed two quarters of satisfactory service as a TA. The first of these TA assignments is required to occur before completing the M.S. degree and should be at the 100- or 200-level. Students may choose to assist in classes for non-major undergraduates (100 and 200 level), Oceanography majors (300 and 400 level), or graduate students (500 level) for their second TA assignment. TA assignments are made in Spring Quarter for the following academic year. It is the responsibility of the student to discuss their plan for support each year with their adviser and complete the Oceanography TA Application that is distributed in April. Lists of available positions with details about the position and required qualifications are distributed with the TA Application to all graduate students and are also available from the Graduate Student Advisor.
The Graduate School requires that all TAs receive training during their graduate career, ideally before beginning their first TA-ship. In response, the School of Oceanography plans that all graduate students undergo TA training at the beginning of their second year. Students with conflicts should attend the training the following year. Training currently consists of participation in the campus-wide Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) "Teaching@UW: Strategies for TAs Program," First Aid/CPR training, and registration for credit in C ENV 555: Teaching Right the quarter you are TAing.
At this time, graduate students with their own fellowship support are entitled to TA support for one quarter prior to their master's while remaining on their fellowship. This is the result of the current interpretation of the UAW contract by the Graduate School.
Students entering the program with prior teaching experience may petition to have the TA requirement(s) waived. Waivers for the first assignment must be requested (in writing to the Director and Graduate Program Coordinator) during the first year of the program after consultation with the student’s advisory committee.
Funding Beyond Year Six. The School will not guarantee support in the form of Teaching Assistantships beyond the end of a graduate student’s sixth year. The adviser and graduate student requesting TA support in any quarter beyond the end of the sixth year must submit, to the Director, a request for this support that includes a rationale for the needed support and a plan/timeline for completion of the Ph.D.
Funding from Outside Sources. Only limited scholarship monies are available within the School, but there are external opportunities, that may allow for greater academic flexibility. Many fellowships are available from federal agencies (NASA, NSF, NDSEG, DOE, etc.) and other sources. If a student experiences problems with funding in any way, they should first discuss them with the adviser and then, if needed, with the Director.
Minimum Registration for RA/TA Appointments. In accordance with the following general policy of the Graduate School, Teaching and Research Assistants employed half-time must register for a minimum of 10 credit hours during the academic year except in very extraordinary cases. This request applies to 20-hour-per-week appointees with some departure for lesser or greater service and applies to the Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters. Petitions for a waiver of the School's requests for RA/TA allocations should be sent to the Director. The reason for the request is to ensure the School receives the maximum amount of teaching credits; in this manner the School can justify the most resources (personnel, financial, and logistic) for graduate education. If you have any questions about course load limits or registration procedures, contact the Student Services Office. Students are expected to register for at least 2 credits of OCEAN 600 or 800 during summer quarter. If you have a loan in deferment, are an international student or are on a fellowship, check with the appropriate offices to make sure 2 credits is the minimum they expect.
Waivers
A petition to waive any specific School of Oceanography requirement may be presented by the student to the Graduate Program Coordinator, who, in consultation with the School's Academic Affairs Committee, shall recommend action for faculty consideration. Petitions to waive the initial TA requirement due to prior teaching experience will only be considered if submitted during the student’s first year.
RA/TA Health Insurance
Graduate Appointee health insurance, which includes dental and vision coverage, is available to students serving as RA’s or TA’s. Full coverage for the student, and a portion of dependent coverage, is paid by the University. For information on the program and coverage consult the Benefits Office website.
Offices
All first- and second-year students are assigned shared office space in Marine Science Building or Ocean Sciences Building. These students may also have office space elsewhere depending on the location of the adviser (e.g., in Henderson Hall, at PMEL on Sand Point Way, or in the Benjamin Hall Interdisciplinary Research Building). Most course work is complete after two years and these remote offices then become the primary office space for graduate students. There is a drop-in office available in OSB 304, for this group of students to use as needed.
