Human Resources

Hiring Students

Teaching Assistants

To hire a Teaching Assistant (TA), departments should populate appointment information on their departmental Student Support Google spreadsheet. If there are any questions, please contact Academic HR Specialist Lili Diaz.

The department is responsible for providing the TA with their Description of Duties form.

If a TA has been offered an appointment and the class assignment changes for the quarter, updates do not need to be made to the spreadsheet (unless for internal purposes) as long as the class change is within the same department, and all other terms of the appointment remain unchanged.

Students may work up to 12 quarters as a TA, reader, tutor, teaching fellow, or associate in. If you want to appoint a student in one of these titles beyond 12 quarters, you must request permission from the Grad Division. Please include the approval when forwarding the TA authorization form to the Division. Students may not work over 18 quarters as a TA, reader, tutor, teaching fellow, or associate in (no exceptions). However, as of Summer 2020, due to COVID-19, students are temporarily being allowed to work up to 21 quarters as a TA, reader, tutor, teaching fellow, or associate in.

Teaching Assistant Salary (Effective October 1, 2024)*

Experience Level	Annual	Monthly	Quarterly
1 – (0-2 quarters)	$68,000	$7,555.56	$22,666.67
2 – (3-5 quarters)	$70,040	$7,782.22	$23,346.67
3 – (6+ quarters)	$72,141	$8,015.67	$24,047.00

*Note: These figures are for 100% time. A TA typically works 50% time in their appointment, so the actual salary would be 50% of the above per a given year, month, or quarter.

Experience levels are based on the terms of the ASE (Academic Student Employee) contract article 32A.

Academic Student Employee appointments are subject to a 5.02% miscellaneous benefits charge as of 7/1/24 (this is charged to the FOAPAL and based on the salary).

Full Fee and Tuition Remission For Academic Student Employees (Effective 2024-2025)

Academic Student Employees (e.g. TAs, Graduate Student Instructors, Readers who are graduate students) qualify for full fee and tuition remission if they are appointed at least 25% time or greater, in all Academic Student Employee and other appointments combined. Full fee and tuition remission includes (as per the Office of the Registrar’s webpage):

Student Services Fee – $418.00
Tuition – $4,254.00
GSA Approved Fees – $467.70
Graduate Student Health Insurance (GSHIP) – $2,084.00
Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (non-California residents or international students) – $5,034.00

Total Quarterly Fees (California Resident/US Citizen): $7,214.70

The partial fee and tuition remission provided by ASE appointments does not cover Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (non-California residents or international students), which is $5,034.00 for the 2024-2025 academic year.

More Information

Graduate Student Researcher Hiring Info

In order to hire a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR), please fill out the Arts GSR Support Request Form. Once you have submitted the form, Arts AHR will work on processing the appointment and reach out with any questions.

GSR Appointment Information and Policy

A Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) is a full-time registered UCSC graduate student appointed to assist in performing research related to the student’s degree program in an academic department or research unit under the direction of a faculty member or authorized Principal Investigator. The student must be in good academic standing and making satisfactory and continuous progress toward the degree. NOTE: The GSR title is not appropriate for teaching or work that is strictly of a clerical or technical nature (i.e., filing, data entry, data base development, reception, etc.). There are separate titles that can be used for graduate students performing strictly clerical or technical work. For further information, contact the Arts Division’s SHR Service Team representative (the representative listed for “Arts” under “Timekeeping-Operations.”)

GSRs are selected for high achievement and promise as creative scholars; they may collaborate in the publication of research results as determined by supervising faculty members. Students registered under Filing Fee Status are prohibited from holding any academic appointments. The Dean of the Graduate Division must approve all exceptions to appointment criteria.

No appointment as a GSR, either by itself or in combination with other University employment, shall exceed half-time (twenty hours per week) during an academic quarter, unless the employing unit has obtained approval from the Division of Graduate Studies. Documentation of approval must accompany the GSR Action form (e.g. a copy of the email from the Graduate Division). Under no circumstance may a GSR be appointed to work over 100% time. A student may work up to 100% time during the summer (July 1st to September 30th).

A new graduate student may work as a GSR during the summer which precedes the fall quarter they will begin a UCSC graduate program, provided that the student has enrolled in their fall courses (a minimum of five credits is required). Students are encouraged to visit the Division of Graduate Studies webpage for more information.

Fee And Tuition Remission For GSRs

GSRs qualify for full fee and tuition remission (which will be covered by the funding source) if they are appointed at least 25% time or greater, in all GSR and other appointments combined, over the three months of the quarter (Fall, Winter, or Spring quarters only; Summer GSRs do not receive fee and tuition remission). Full fee and tuition remission includes the payment of tuition, fees, health insurance (GSHIP) for all eligible students, and nonresident tuition if applicable.

These benefits must be paid from the funding source that pays the student’s salary. Fellowship funds may not be used for this purpose. The cost of these benefits will be charged to the funding source quarterly. Please note, if a student’s fees/health insurance/nonresident tuition are being paid by an external funding agency (e.g., foreign government, private agency), they are not eligible for fee remission benefits.

Arts Division GSR Salaries (Effective October 1, 2024)

Experience Level	Annual	Monthly	Hourly
1 – (0-2 quarters)	$69,129	$5,760.75	$33.11
2 – (3-5 quarters)	$74,487	$6,207.25	$35.67
3 – (6+ quarters)	$80,260	$6,688.33	$38.44

NOTE: Experience levels are based on the terms of the GSR contract article titled “Wages”.

*The Institute of the Arts and Sciences has set their own scales according to whether a student has advanced to candidacy:

4 – (has not advanced)	$86,481	$7,206.75	$41.42
5 – (has advanced)	$93,184	$7,765.33	$44.63

Employment Benefits (Effective JULY 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025)

Employment benefits are approximately an additional 5.02% as of 7/1/24 (based off of salary).

Health Insurance Eligibility

Graduate students are covered by student health insurance (GSHIP) throughout the year (including the summer). If a student is appointed at 75% time or greater (all appointments combined) for three months or longer, the student becomes eligible for additional coverage (employee Core medical coverage). This typically only applies during the summer. A student covered by GSHIP may find that they prefer the student coverage to Core (due to Core’s high deductible). If an individual is enrolled in Core and GSHIP concurrently, the Core coverage would likely be considered primary coverage. The choice to enroll in the additional Core coverage is up to the graduate student. Should they choose to enroll, the funding source will be charged for the cost of the Core medical coverage premium (about $250 per month).

Graduate Student Fees (Effective 2024-2025)

*Note: This information can be found at the Office of the Registrar’s webpage.

Student Services Fee – $418.00
Tuition – $4,254.00
GSA Approved Fees – $467.70
Graduate Student Health Insurance (GSHIP) – $2,084.00
Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (non-California residents or international students) – $5,034.00

Total Quarterly Fees (California Resident/US Citizen): $7,214.70

Total Quarterly Fees (Non-California Resident/International Student): $12,248.70

[Of the fees listed above, only the GSHIP can be waived (see the UCSC Student Health Center webpage for more information). International Students must pay the Nonresident Supplemental Tuition until they have advanced to candidacy, after which the student will not be charged Nonresident Supplemental Tuition for the following three years.]

Graduate Student Instructors

To request a GSI appointment, departments should request CCI approval (see below) and populate appointment information on their departmental Student Support Google spreadsheet. If there are any questions, please contact Academic HR Specialist Lili Diaz.

To request CCI approval, please submit GSI requests for undergraduate courses through the CARS Portal. You must follow this process even if the GSI teaching request meets the criteria for CCI blanket approval, as this process captures the approval of the department chair and the dean.

Full Fee And Tuition Remission For Academic Student Employees (Effective 2024-2025)

Student Services Fee – $418.00
Tuition – $4,254.00
GSA Approved Fees – $467.70
Graduate Student Health Insurance (GSHIP) – $2,084.00
Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (non-California residents or international students) – $5,034.00

Total Quarterly Fees (California Resident/US Citizen): $7,214.70

The full fee and tuition remission provided by ASE appointments does not cover Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (non-California residents or international students), which is $5,034.00 for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Academic Student Employee appointments are subject to a 5.02% miscellaneous benefits charge as of 7/1/24 (this is charged to the FOAPAL and based on the salary).