Graduate Teaching Assistantship
MFA in Creative Writing students are eligible to teach composition during their first year and creative writing during their second year in the English Department. Graduate students in Applied Linguistics are eligible to teach composition courses in the Department of English and ESL courses in the Program in Intensive English (PIE). More advanced PhD students are eligible to apply for other teaching or research opportunities.
Screening of applications begins February 1, continuing, if necessary, until all positions are filled. Assignments will be made during May. We do not offer positions that begin in the spring semester or for online teaching assignments.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships are reviewed on an annual basis. In general, if performance in English composition or PIE is satisfactory, good academic standing is maintained, and progress toward completion of the degree is being made, students in the MA and MFA programs receive two years of support and students in the PhD program receive four years of support.
Composition Graduate Teaching Assistantship
Graduate students who are awarded a Composition Graduate Teaching Assistantship receive extensive training and experience in teaching English composition at the college level and in working and consulting in the Lumberjack Writing Center.
Position Overview Accordion Closed
A Graduate Teaching Assistantship in English represents a 20-hour-per-week commitment. For first-year graduate assistants, this typically involves the following each week:
- Four classroom hours of teaching English 105, NAU’s freshman composition course. The curriculum follows a standard syllabus and is content-based. It incorporates a technological literary component for each section which is taught as weekly blended learning activities.
- Six hours of regularly scheduled Lumberjack Writing Center instruction, which involves one-on-one tutoring (walk-in and English 100, our individualized tutoring class), the preparation and presentation of cross-curricular writing workshops or other projects.
Experienced Graduate Teaching Assistants teach a second class, usually ENG 205, in lieu of the working in the Lumberjack Writing Center/ENG 100.
The approximate time commitment breakdown:
First-Year GTA Weekly Time Commitment
| Teach ENG 105 | 4 |
| Office Hours | 3 |
| University Writing Commons/ENG 100 | 6 |
| Preparation/Grading | 7 |
Second-Year GTA Weekly Time Commitment
| Teach ENG 105 | 4 |
| Office Hours | 3 |
| Teach ENG 205 | 2 |
| Preparation/Grading | 11 |
Additional weekly requirements during the first semester include participation in English 601, a three-credit-hour teaching practicum. This course should be part of, not in addition to, the nine-hour full-time enrollment required of all graduate assistants each semester.
Prior to teaching, graduate assistants must also participate in a two-week orientation prior to Fall semester and a brief session before Spring semester.
How to Apply Accordion Closed
While some programs admit students on a rolling basis, GTA applications received by February 1 will be given preference.
A complete application includes
1) A 1-2 page teaching statement that demonstrates your writing skill and illustrates your commitment to and preparation for teaching composition. Consider including:
- Descriptions of teaching qualities you have valued as a student and how you might adopt or adapt them as a teacher;
- Descriptions of how your life experiences (e.g., tutoring, acting, debate, student leadership, editing) have prepared you to become an effective composition teacher at NAU;
- A brief articulation of how you will balance work as a graduate teaching assistant (20 hours per week teaching, tutoring, grading, etc.) with your academic work.
**If you are applying for assistantships in English Composition and PIE, a separate essay should be submitted for each position.
2) transcripts of your previous undergraduate and graduate work (photocopies okay); and
3) two letters of recommendation from people able to judge your educational, professional, and teaching potential.
If applying as a returning student, please submit applications to composition@nau.edu.
Program in Intensive English Teaching Assistantships
Graduate students in Applied Linguistics who are awarded PIE assistantships receive extensive training and experience in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in an intensive English setting.
Position Overview Accordion Closed
A Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) in the PIE requires a 20-hour-per-week commitment, which typically involves the following:
- teaching PIE classes, including the development of instructional materials, tasks, and assessments
- collaboratively planning lessons
- grading student work and providing constructive feedback
- participating in programmatic assessment
- participating in program meetings
- holding office hours
All PIE Graduate Teaching Assistants must also participate in a two-week orientation prior to each Fall semester and a one-week preparation week before each Spring semester.
How to Apply Accordion Closed
A complete application includes
1) a 1‐2 page teaching statement which outlines why you would succeed as a graduate assistant teaching in our program. This statement should
- illustrate your writing skills;
- identify any specific professional experiences in or preparation for teaching ESL/EFL that will enable you to succeed in teaching in the PIE ;
- highlight your experience(s) with and/or interest(s) in international student education (e.g., study abroad, teaching ESL/EFL, advising international students) that prepare you to teach in the PIE; and
- articulate the relationship that you see between your work as a Teaching Assistant and your professional goals as a student in one of our Graduate English programs.
**If you are applying for assistantships in English Composition and PIE, a separate essay should be submitted for each position.
2) transcripts of your previous undergraduate and graduate work (photocopies okay).
3) two letters of recommendation from people able to judge your educational, professional, and teaching potential.
Please save your materials, including statement, as 1 document named PIE_Family name_Given name, and submit as an email attachment to pie.nau@nau.edu.
International Students
To be eligible for consideration for a Teaching Assistantship in the English Department at the time of admission, an international student must have received a score of at least 104 on TOEFL iBT or 7.5 IELTS.
Tuition Waivers
We offer tuition waivers on a competitive basis to students who:
- are admitted to an English graduate program
- are enrolled as full-time graduate students (taking a minimum of 9 hours per semester)
- maintain a 3.0 GPA (with no grades below B and no grades of “incomplete”)
We offer tuition waivers of in-state and out-of-state tuition. If you’re an Arizona resident, you should apply for a waiver of resident tuition; these waivers cover the cost of in-state tuition for fall and/or spring semester. If you are not an Arizona resident, you should apply for non-resident waivers; these waivers cover the out-of-state portion of University tuition for fall and/or spring semester. If you are awarded a non-resident waiver, you will still be responsible for paying the in-state portion of tuition.
New and current students are encouraged to apply. Note that students who have been awarded a graduate assistantship through the English department already have a tuition waiver.
Decisions are made on the basis of academic merit and the quality of application materials. While we may be unable to support all admitted students, we try to help as many students as possible.
For the first consideration, please be sure that supporting materials and your completed application forms for graduate assistantships or tuition waivers are returned to the following address before February 1:
English Department
Composition Office
PO Box 6032
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
For questions, contact the Composition Office at 928-523-6842 or email Composition@nau.edu.
Financial aid
For information on the various financial resources available including graduate assistantships, visit the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies. For information on financial aid, contact the Office of Student Financial Aid.