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Departmental Funding

Types of Assistantships

Graduate students in the Department typically are supported financially in one of
three ways. First, graduate students can be appointed to a .5 Research Assistantship (RA)
in Communication Studies. Responsibilities of RAs will vary depending on the
professor(s) to whom they are assigned, but typically will involve helping faculty with
their research projects, including primary and secondary research, data collections and
analysis, and other research activities.

Second, graduate students can be appointed to a .5 Teaching Assistantship (TA) in
Communication Studies. TA duties within the Department are normally of two types: 1)
assisting a faculty member teaching a large multi-section course; 2) teaching a smaller
stand-alone lower level course. To the extent possible, TAs without previous teaching
experience are asked to assist a faculty member in teaching; stand-alone teaching comes
after you have developed some experience teaching at the University of Iowa. TAs may
also be assigned as graders for faculty members or may coordinate other TAs, act as
demonstrators or be given other assignments that assist in the Department’s ability to
offer a first-rate undergraduate curriculum.

Third, graduate students can be appointed to a .5 TAship in another department,
most typically the Rhetoric Department. TAs in Rhetoric are involved in the education of
students in critical reading, writing, and speaking skills, typically in small stand-alone
lower level courses or in speaking and writing tutorial labs.

The normal practice of Communication Studies is to provide a range of
experiences for its graduate students. In general, we strive to have graduate students
funded for two years in Rhetoric and two years in Communication Studies. Some
students enter with their initial TA appointment in Rhetoric, and these students move to
TAships in Communication Studies in their third year. Other students enter with their
initial TA appointment in Communication Studies and move to TAships in Rhetoric in
their third year. This pattern is not absolute but a general description of our preferred
practice. TA and RA positions can be discontinued for failure to meet contract
obligations.

The Department normally arranges assistantship support for incoming students
who have been promised such support. Sometimes, incoming students are eligible for
fellowships awarded by the Graduate College at the time of initial application. Once you
are enrolled at Iowa, you may find out about other forms of support that would interest
you and, in consultation with an academic advisor, may try to arrange such support in
future years. Graduate assistantships are available in other departments or units on
campus, such as foreign language departments, the radio station, or the Information
Arcade. In addition, depending on interest area, graduate students may be eligible for
fellowship support through the Crossing Borders Program.

Communication Studies issues assistantship contracts by April 15th of each year,
with assignments detailed as soon as feasible after this date. If you wish to appeal your
assignment, submit your request (and your rationale) no later than three working days
after receipt of your assignment to the following three-member committee: Becky Scott,
the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), and the Director of Undergraduate Studies
(DUS). Check with the main office to find out which faculty members are serving in the
DGS and DUS roles.