Graduate Assistantships

What is a Graduate Assistantship?

The Department of History offers a number of graduate assistantships to students enrolled in the master’s program. Graduate assistants are selected through a competitive process. Those who are successful will receive both a tuition waver and a stipend.

As a graduate assistants, students will be assigned to work alongside members of faculty teaching the department's general education classes. An assistantship is excellent preparation for those intending to continue their graduate studies to the doctorate level.

Tuition Waiver and Stipend

Graduate students who secure a graduate assistantship receive a tuition fee waiver scholarship (the cost of tuition for a normal load of 9 graduate hours) and a stipend each fall and spring semester of their assistantship. 

 

Eligibility and Renewal

You must be admitted into a history graduate program and have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. A full assistantship is awarded for one academic year only, but it is renewable. To be eligible for reappointment, the student should perform satisfactorily in the duties of the assistantship, satisfactorily complete 9 hours a semester in history graduate work, and have a minimum 3.3 GPA in graduate work at Missouri State.

Application

At the Graduate College website, under the heading Current Students, go to Forms. On the Graduate College Forms page, under the heading Financial Assistance, you will find the Application for graduate assistantship. Please fill it out and submit it to the history department.

Send to the history department graduate director:

  • Three letters of recommendation from academic sources. They may be sent by email from the writer. The letters submitted for admission into the history MA program may be used for the application for a graduate assistantship.
  • A statement of purpose (maximum 350 words) discussing why you wish to pursue a graduate degree in history
  • A writing sample of 2500 to 6250 words (ten to twenty-five pages). This may be from any discipline.
  • Recent GRE scores (within five years) may be submitted as part of an application at the discretion of the applicant. Scores originally sent when applying for admission to the master's program may be used for this purpose as well.

Application Deadline

The graduate assistantship application deadline is 1 March for the following year. Students wishing to be considered for a graduate assistantship must ensure that their application materials are received before this date.