1.8 Reappointment of Graduate Associates

According to the Graduate School Handbook (Section 11-5), to hold a Graduate Associate appointment (Teaching, Research, or Administrative Associateship) a student must satisfy the following eligibility requirements (among others):

  1. The student must be in good standing in the Graduate School at the time the appointment or reappointment becomes effective, that is, the student must maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 or better in all graduate courses.
  2. The student must maintain "reasonable progress toward a graduate degree." This requirement is not further spelled out by the Graduate School. As interpreted by the Graduate Committee of the Department of Philosophy, it means the following:
  • The student must maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 or better in all graduate philosophy courses.
  • A student in the Ph.D. program must regularly carry a normal load and complete the distribution requirements on schedule (see sec.2.3).
  • The student must take and pass the Candidacy and the Dissertation Prospectus Examination at the times specified for the first taking of those examinations: for the Candidacy Examination, by the third year in the program: see "Candidacy Examination" and sec.2.6. 
  • A student who has passed the Candidacy Examination must make satisfactory progress toward the selection of a dissertation topic and Advisor.
  • A student who has passed the Dissertation Prospectus Examination must make satisfactory progress toward the completion of a dissertation.

According to the Graduate School Handbook (Section 12-1),students who fail to satisfy either of the above eligibility requirements (1) and (2) may be awarded associateships only upon petition to the Graduate Committee. In such cases, the Committee must notify the Dean of the Graduate School of its decision.

The Graduate School requirements are necessary but not sufficient for financial support; see sec.1.7 for the Department's internal policies for graduate student evaluation and continued financial support. Note that a student who has poor teaching evaluations may be given a low priority for a teaching position and so not receive an associateship for the next academic year, even if the student's academic work has been satisfactory and overall evaluation by the Department is positive.

Summer appointments. It is the Graduate Committee's policy that students who fail to satisfy Graduate School eligibility requirements stated under (1) and (2) above will not be recommended for summer associateships except in extraordinary circumstances. Other criteria to be used in awarding summer appointments are academic performance, teaching effectiveness, extent of previous summer support (the less the better), and need.

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