Teaching Assistantships
The Department of Communication & Journalism offers a limited number of teaching assistantships for Ph.D. students and M.A. students. All assistantships are competitively awarded. If you wish to apply for an assistantship, you must upload the Assistantship Interest statement as part of your application (see Application Procedures page, item 7).
Assistantships are considered term appointments. Teaching assistants typically teach two courses per semester (four total for the year). This load is considered a 0.5 FTE (full-time equivalent). The financial package for teaching assistants who teach four courses per year consists of a stipend for teaching, tuition waiver for up to 24 credits per year (12 per semester), and health insurance.
Funding for the teaching assistantship is for the duration of your graduate program (four years for Ph.D. students and two years for M.A. students), pending three conditions: (a) teaching performance (b) personal academic performance, and (c) departmental budgetary conditions.
Resources for Teaching Assistants
We work very hard to ensure that your teaching experience is rewarding. We want to help you achieve your goal of being an excellent teacher. Therefore, we offer the following resources:
- Faculty Mentoring and Coordination. At C&J, teaching assistants are responsible for teaching their own classes (i.e., for most classes, TAs are not assistants, but the primary teachers for the courses). However, faculty serve as course coordinators and mentors who provide support to help you be successful in your teaching. The support includes meeting before the semester to assist with course and syllabus preparation and regular meetings during the semester to discuss ongoing issues in the course (e.g., class activities, grading, lectures, problems, etc.). The meetings provide the opportunity to share what is working, and what is not, in your own classes.
- Teaching Training and Resources. At C&J, teaching assistants have access to training sessions and other opportunities to enhance their teaching skills and build a solid portfolio. All teaching assistants take the one-credit course C&J 584 Teaching Communication at UNM during their first Fall semester in the program. In addition, UNM’s Center for Teaching & Learning offers a diversity of resources and support for graduate instructors (https://ctl.unm.edu/).
Research and Other Assistantships
The Department of Communication & Journalism may also offer has other graduate assistantships contingent on availability of funding. The funding for these projects is variable and often depends on faculty research grants or other campus resources and initiatives available. Check with the Graduate Programs Coordinator and Department Chair to learn more about these opportunities.
Cost of Attending UNM
The following information may be useful for you in planning the cost of attending the University of New Mexico. Tuition rates for graduate students and cost of attendance for the 2024-2025academic year can be found on the Financial Aid page. Be aware that rates will vary from year to year.
