OSU graduate appointments and eligibility

All graduate students who meet the following criteria are eligible to hold a graduate appointment. See the Graduate Appointments section in the Catalog.

  • Be a regularly admitted, conditionally admitted, or provisionally admitted graduate student at Oregon State University (i.e., not a graduate non-degree-seeking, post-baccalaureate student, or PharmD, DPT, or DVM student).
  • Be enrolled as a full-time degree-seeking graduate student at Oregon State University, completing a minimum of 12 credits of instruction each term (3 credits during summer session if on appointment). Audit registrations, course withdrawals, and enrollment in INTO OSU may not be used to satisfy these minimum enrollment requirements.
  • Be making satisfactory progress toward an advanced degree as defined by the Graduate School and the student’s program.

Eligible graduate students may hold the following type of appointment:

  • Graduate Assistantship (GA) appointments at OSU are ultimately governed by the contract agreement between OSU and the Coalition of Graduate Employees, American Federation of Teachers Local 6069. The CGE contract takes precedence over all other published information. Departments should consult the Office of Human Resources and the CGE contract for definitive employment rules and regulations concerning Graduate Assistant appointments, as well as associated tuition remission support.

    • Teaching Assistants (GTAs) provide instructional support through leading lecture, lab, or recitation sections; grading; preparation of materials; or other activities directly related to the educational mission of the unit.
    • Research Assistants (GRAs) provide support in field, laboratory, or research work appropriate to the discipline, in support of the unit's mission;

For Graduate Fellowship appointments, visit the OSU Graduate Tuition Waiver Policy.

OSU graduate tuition remission policy for assistantships

Tuition remissions provided full tuition support for students on qualifying assistantships. Tuition remission policies are ultimately governed by the current CGE contract.

  1. Units are responsible for appointing Graduate Assistantships appropriately as a condition of continued authority to award tuition remissions and stipends. For policies governing distribution of tuition remission, see FIS Manual 302-03.
  2. For graduate assistants whose stipends are paid from more than one grant or fund type, the tuition remission or the tuition charged to each funding source/type will be calculated in proportion to the stipend amount paid from each source.
  3. University units eligible to award tuition remissions to graduate assistants include all academic colleges including the Graduate School and interdisciplinary degree programs reporting to the Dean of the Graduate School.
  4. Tuition remission funding may be provided by the Graduate School through a Laurels Block Grant fund