Teaching and research graduate assistantships are part-time positions within the Department that serve to support the functions and activities of the Department and provide an income while you complete your graduate degree. In addition to a financial support, graduate assistants are provided an office space and desktop computer to complete their assistantship duties as well as their coursework.

The yearly availability and variety of assistantships is dependent upon funding with the number of positions varying from year-to-year. No two assistantships are alike; the responsibilities of each position varies. Responsibilities may include assisting faculty with classroom activities, research efforts, outreach programming, or other functions in support of the departments mission in teaching, research, and extension.

Assistantship positions are jobs; they are not scholarships and are not given on the basis of financial need. As such, we try to hire the person who will be best able to complete the tasks of the available assistantship position. To ensure that you receive full consideration for every assistantship position, it will be helpful for the faculty to know you & your knowledge, skills, experiences, and even your potential for growth. As such, we ask that students who wish to be considered for an assistantship position include reasoning in their Statement of Purpose through their Graduate School application.

If you were not an undergraduate student in the Department, you are strongly encouraged to visit the department as part of your application process. This will provide you the opportunity to not only meet the faculty and confirm your decision to apply but will allow the faculty the opportunity to get to know you beyond your application materials.

The decision to offer an assistantship position to an admitted graduate student is made by the faculty member who possesses the position (e.g. as a result of a research grant). The actual offer of an assistantship position cannot be made prior to the student's admission to the graduate program as per Graduate School procedures. As such, beginning your application as soon as possible is important when desiring an assistantship position.

For additional information about the department and graduate programs, please contact the departmental graduate student coordinator, Dr. Shannon Norris-Parish at 575-646-1130 or norriss@nmsu.edu or the department head, Dr. Steve Fraze at 575-646-2095 or sfraze@nmsu.edu.