
Graduate Assistantships
These guidelines adhere to current U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and federal income tax regulations. No exceptions can be made to these regulations.
New York Institute of Technology offers a number of graduate assistantships to qualified students enrolled in our graduate degree programs. Depending on their skills and experience and the needs of a specific program, graduate assistants may be asked to work in one of three positions:
- Graduate Assistant (GA): Perform duties, as assigned, that are beneficial to the operation of New York Tech and provide a learning experience to the student, such as helping to manage a department office or facility.
- Research Assistant (RA): Work with faculty on specific scholarly projects, performing duties as assigned, including: collecting data, conducting statistical analysis, running experiments, interviewing subjects, performing library work, editing manuscripts, etc.
- Teaching Assistant (TA): Work with faculty, performing duties, as assigned, including: grading exams and/or assignments; assisting students in studying or completing homework; assisting students in performing laboratory exercises; giving an occasional lecture or presentation to the class, etc.
Graduate assistantships provide partial tuition remission in exchange for a specific number of hours of service per week to a New York Tech school or department.
Graduate assistants may also work in New York Tech's Student Aid or Federal Work Study programs (domestic students only) at the same time, as long as they do not exceed 20 hours of work per week, combined. As part-time employees, graduate assistants may not work more than 999 hours in a single calendar year.
These graduate assistantship guidelines adhere to current U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and federal income tax regulations. No exceptions can be made to these regulations.
To be eligible for a graduate assistantship position, a student must:
- Be attending New York Tech full-time, taking a minimum of nine (9) course credits in graduate studies during Fall and Spring semesters, and eligible for a maximum of 4.75 GA credits. Final- and summer-semester graduate students are considered part-time, eligible for GA credits equal to half the number of course credits they are taking.
- Have completed their undergraduate degree and must not be taking any undergraduate courses, pre-requisite or otherwise.
- Final- and summer-semester graduate students may receive, at a maximum, graduate assistantships equal to half the number of course credits they are taking.
- Be a U.S. citizen or (if an international student) have a Social Security number and a documented immigration status that allows employment. Students who do not have a Social Security card may not work at New York Tech.
If you are interested in a graduate assistantship, contact the director of your selected program to find out about open positions and requirements.
There are two steps to obtaining a Graduate Assistantship:
- Apply for/receive a job
- Complete the onboarding process
Applying for a Job
To apply for a Graduate Assistantship position, students must log onto New York Tech’s Handshake where they’ll be able to search for all posted GA positions. They must:
- Upload their resume under “Documents” and select “Build Profile from Resume.” Handshake will automatically populate the student’s education, work experience, and skills OR they may input their information manually under “My Profile.”
- Enter a short bio, input relevant coursework, and attach social links.
- Select the “Jobs” tab at the top of the page to search for jobs, click “All Filters,” then “On-Campus Jobs.”
As most positions are highly competitive, students can make their application stand out by applying with a resume that’s been reviewed by someone in Career Success and Experiential Education (CSEE), and by following application instructions explicitly.
Search for Assistantships on HandshakeOnboarding Process
Once a student has been chosen for a position, their hiring manager will initiate the hire process in Workday. The student must then:
- Complete all onboarding tasks online and then visit the Student Employment office on or before their start date to submit any additional paperwork or documentation.
- Present original identification for USCIS Form I-9: Employment Eligibility Verification, if they are a new hire or have not worked for more than a year.
List of Acceptable Documents - Bring in all identifying documents to one of the following Office of Student Employment locations:
Long Island Campus
Student Activity Center, Room 310
516.686.1451
By appointment onlyNew York City Campus
26 W. 61st Street, Room 209
516.686.1451
By appointment only
Students may not begin working until all paperwork has been fully processed. They cannot begin working prior to the start date indicated on their student hire document.
NOTE: All students must have a Social Security Number (SSN) to work at New York Tech. The hiring process cannot be completed, and the student may not start working until they have received the physical Social Security card in the mail.
If a student does not have an SSN, their manager must complete an Employer Social Security Letter and submit it to New York Tech's Graduate, Global and Office of International Admissions office (Karen Johnson at johnsonk@nyit.edu in Long Island or Christopher Olagunju at colagunj@nyit.edu in New York City) to facilitate the process.
Students who do not have an SSN or proper immigration status may not work at New York Tech.
Graduate assistantships are compensated via tuition credit only. Students may earn a maximum of 4.75 credits per semester, not to exceed 310 working hours during that term. No stipends are paid.
Students may be hired according to the following schedule: *
- 1 credit = 65 hours per semester
- 2 credits = 130 hours per semester
- 3 credits = 195 hours per semester
- 4 credits = 260 hours per semester
*Variations on these credits may be made (1.25, 1.5, 1.75, etc.), but no fewer than .5 credits, and no more than 4.75 credits.
Students may not work more than 20 hours per week in all employment combined during the fall and spring semesters, and no student may work more than 999 hours for the year.
Students may work up to 35 hours per week during Intersession, Spring Break, Summer Semesters, and Winter Recess.
Please note that a student cannot receive more tuition credits than their tuition balance after factoring in scholarships, discounts, and other financial awards.
Graduate Assistantships that are funded by internal and external grants must also be compensated via tuition credit only and conform to the work requirements outlined above.
All graduate assistants must submit weekly timesheets to their managers via Workday.
Students who do not complete their hours will lose tuition credits in proportion to the hours missed and will be billed for the balance.
Deadlines
The Graduate Assistantship hiring process for students must be completed by—the latest—the week before they start working.
Closing Deadlines*:
- Summer II Semester: Complete hiring process July 25, 2025
- Fall Semester: Complete hiring process by October 1, 2025
- Spring Semester: Complete hiring process by March 2, 2026
- Summer I semester: Complete hiring process by May 29, 2026.
* Per New York Tech's fiscal-year calendar (July 1–June 30), the summer semester is divided into two sessions – Summer I (June 1–30) and Summer II (July 1–August 31)
Tax Information
Graduate Assistants, including international students, may be liable for income taxes on the value of their assistantships according to Internal Revenue Service regulations. Therefore, Graduate Assistantship applicants must fill out the required tax form, if applicable, during the onboarding process. As a courtesy, New York Tech covers the taxes for international students.
Remote Work Policy
The student employee remote work policy may be found in the Student Employee Handbook.
Contact Us
The Office of Student Employment coordinates all Graduate Assistantships. If you have any questions, email Rosemarie Feurtado at rfeurtad@nyit.edu or Denniesia Cameron at dcamer05@nyit.edu.