Graduate Assistantships at the University of Washington are paid Teaching, Research, and Staff Assistant positions that fund a master’s degree or PhD in Seattle in exchange for roughly 20 hours of work a week. In return for teaching a section, running a lab, or supporting a department, most UW graduate assistants receive a monthly salary, a waiver of the operating and building fees, and subsidized health insurance, which is why so many domestic and international applicants search for Graduate Assistantships at the University of Washington every admissions cycle.
This guide breaks down exactly how Graduate Assistantships at the University of Washington work in 2027:
- the three assistantship types,
- what they actually pay,
- who qualifies (yes, including international students),
- how to find an open position,
- how UW compares with similar fully funded programs at other research universities.
At UW, an assistantship is a form of paid academic employment: you work for a department, and the department pays you back in salary, tuition relief, and benefits. The University of Washington Graduate School describes assistantships simply as arrangements in which students receive tuition reimbursement for the tasks they perform for faculty members, departments, or colleges.
Unlike a scholarship you apply for once, a Graduate Assistantship at the University of Washington is an actual job with a supervisor, a job description, and a union contract.
That’s an important distinction; it means your pay, workload, and benefits are protected on paper, not left to a department’s discretion.
3 Types of UW Graduate Assistantships
The UW Graduate School groups every Graduate Assistantship at the University of Washington into one of three categories, known collectively as Academic Student Employee (ASE) positions:
- Graduate Teaching Assistant (TA)
- You work directly with undergraduates, leading quiz sections, grading, running lab periods, or holding office hours for an introductory course. This is the most common assistantship for master’s and PhD students in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM departments alike.
- Graduate Research Assistant (RA)
- You work on a faculty member’s funded research project instead of teaching. RA positions are common in engineering, the sciences, and any department with active grant funding, and they’re often the closest match to your own dissertation or thesis topic.
- Graduate Staff Assistant (SA)
- You take on non-teaching, non-research duties such as academic advising, program administration, or event coordination for a department or office.
All three assistantship types are classified as Academic Student Employees covered by the UAW/UW union contract, which sets the rules for pay, appointments, and workload across every Graduate Assistantship at the University of Washington.
Funding & Benefits:
Here’s what a half-time (20 hours/week) Graduate Assistantship at the University of Washington typically includes:
Monthly salary
- A base ASE salary that has been rising under the current UAW/UW contract, moving toward roughly $3,200+ per month by the later years of the agreement, plus higher scale rates for hourly reader/grader/tutor roles.
Tuition waiver
- Payment of the operating fee (resident and non-resident portions), the building fee, and the technology fee for eligible half-time appointments.
Health insurance
- Coverage through the Graduate Appointee Insurance Program (GAIP), with an option to add a spouse or children.
Childcare support
- A childcare reimbursement benefit for eligible ASEs balancing an assistantship with family responsibilities.
Remaining fees
- You’re still responsible for smaller mandatory fees (often a few hundred dollars per quarter) that the waiver doesn’t cover.
Because pay scales are renegotiated periodically between the university and the ASE union, always confirm the current-year numbers with your hiring department before you budget around them. The figures above are a realistic planning range, not a guarantee.
Eligibility Requirements
There isn’t a separate “assistantship application” at UW; eligibility for a Graduate Assistantship at the University of Washington is tied to your graduate admission and enrollment status. In general, you need to:
- Be admitted to and enrolled in a UW graduate degree program.
- Register for a minimum number of credits each quarter you hold the appointment (enrollment rules are set under Executive Order 28).
- Stay in good academic standing with your program.
- Meet any department-specific requirements for the exact TA, RA, or SA role you’re hired into.
Can International Students Get a Graduate Assistantship at UW?
Yes. The UW Graduate School is explicit on this point: international students in degree programs are eligible to serve in assistantship positions. The one added condition applies specifically to Teaching Assistant roles: if you’re a non-native English speaker and you’ll be teaching, you must first meet UW’s English proficiency requirements under Graduate School Policy 5.2. Research Assistant and Staff Assistant roles don’t carry that same teaching-specific language test.
If your English test scores aren’t where they need to be yet, it’s worth also looking at our list of fully funded scholarships that don’t require IELTS while you prepare.
How to Find and Apply for a Position
Unlike a centralized scholarship portal, a Graduate Assistantship at the University of Washington is hired department by department. There is no single “apply here” button; instead:
- Get admitted first. Departments generally hire from their own current or incoming graduate students.
- Watch your department email. Many TA/RA/SA openings are circulated internally before they’re posted anywhere publicly.
- Check Handshake. UW’s official Handshake job board lists campus positions open to all students, including assistantships.
- Use the Graduate Funding Information Service (GFIS). Based in Allen Library, GFIS tracks both UW and external funding opportunities, including assistantship postings.
- Ask your program coordinator directly. For research-heavy departments, a direct email to a faculty member with open grant funding is often more effective than waiting for a posted listing.
General UW Graduate School Admission Requirements
Because an assistantship follows admission, clearing the Graduate School’s baseline requirements is step one toward any Graduate Assistantship at the University of Washington:
- A four-year bachelor’s degree (or international equivalent) from a regionally accredited institution.
- A minimum 3.0 GPA across your last 90 quarter credits or 60 semester credits.
- Proof of English language proficiency for non-native English speakers.
- A completed online application through the UW Graduate School application portal, plus the non-refundable application fee.
Deadlines are set by each program rather than the Graduate School as a whole, so confirm the exact date on your target department’s page once you’ve picked a program.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a UW Graduate Assistantship
Advantages
- Genuine full-time job experience alongside your degree is useful for both academic and industry careers.
- A predictable monthly salary rather than a lump-sum award.
- Union-backed pay scales, workload limits, and grievance protections.
- Health insurance that also covers dependents at a discount.
- Open to international students, with only the TA route requiring an English proficiency check.
Disadvantages
- You’re committing 20 hours a week on top of coursework and research.
- Positions are decentralized, so finding one takes more legwork than a single scholarship application.
- The tuition waiver doesn’t cover every fee; some out-of-pocket costs remain each quarter.
- Funding is department-dependent; not every program guarantees an assistantship to every admit.
