Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) and Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA): the difference and how to increase your chances of securing any of both in US universities.

A thread

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A Graduate Assistantship either GRA or GTA generally covers your tuitions (sometimes health insurance depending on the school) and provides you with monthly allowance for performing some duties assigned to you by the department or your advisor.

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How do you know the schools that offer graduate assistantships?

There are alot of schools that offer this type of funding in the US. Your choice might depend on some of this factors:
1. Your intended program of study
2. The school admission and funding requirements.

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3. The location of the school.
4. Mixed population.
5. Ranking, etc.

If you already have some schools in mind and probably know some funded graduate students there, you can go ahead and check the requirements peculiar to your department through their webpage.

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You can easily search for schools in the US or any other part of the world through this website http://4icu.org .
The site provides you with the ranking of the schools and a link to their website. From the website, you can search for the department that offers your

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intended program.

The link below gives the list of over 1700 ranked universities or public institutions in the US (2020). If you are particular about ranking, this is a good way to visualize the name of the schools in a single file
https://www.4icu.org/us/ 

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How do you know the type of funding available for your program?

I will be using @UofAlabama to demonstrate how you can check available funding.

From http://4icu.org/us , you can access the schools website and then search your program department.

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From the department webpage you can check the graduate funding section. It is very important to read the admission criteria for your program first. After that, read carefully the funding criteria and procedure.

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I highlighted some important information below that you should take note of when checking the funding section with regard to GRA and GTA. It shows the pathway to securing any of both. If you are applying directly for Masters, ensure you get more funding information from the

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graduate program coordinator of your dept.

For GRA as highlighted above, you might need to contact faculties in your area of interest as demonstrated below.
Coincidentally, this professor is currently accepting graduate students, so you can reach out if its in your field.

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How do you demonstrate expected teaching ability required for securing a GTA?

You can do that through your TOEFL and GRE scores. Even if the tests are waived for your program, it is advisable to write them for funding purpose. Through this test results,

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you demonstrate to the admission committee that you can speak, listen, write and read efficiently in English.

You might usually be required to sit for some other tests before taking any class but this initial test will increases your chances of getting the funding.

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Your academic record (transcripts) also demostrates that you have a background knowledge of the subject that might be assigned to you. Having teaching experience (at a higher level) especially using novel platforms like zoom, blackboard etc. can also be an advantage.

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For GRA, you will need to demonstrate research ability and potentials. To get a response from a potential advisor, your understanding of their research interest and previous work is key. You will need to relate your interest to theirs and show your passion for research

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as much as possible. Before sending an email to any professor, its advisable to go through their personal website (if they have one), and read through some of their recent publications. You can even make reference to some part of their work in your first email. Doing so

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shows the extent of your interest in working with them. From their page, you are likely to find information about their current or previous students and connect them with through platform like LinkedIn. They can provide you with some information and assistance.

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Having a faculty that is interested in you can make the admission and funding process more favorable.

It also help you to streamline the number of schools to apply to and thereby saving you some cost.
So, you should prioritize sending well crafted cold emails.

Your SOP

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is an equally important piece of document with significant impact on the outcome of your application. @olumuyiwaayo have some good information in his pinned tweet that can help you in constructing good cold emails and SOP. You can also check @AaronAkpuPhilip

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thread on writing a winning SOP
for some interesting ideas.

It is advisable to ensure you submit your application ahead of deadline. Most schools start rolling out offers earlier before the deadline.

Finally, ensure to put your best forward and

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pray for God's favour.

I hope this helps!!!

Happy new month

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@olumuyiwaayo @AaronAkpuPhilip @KennyOnwukamike @drhammed @Jamaticulus @adejimiadeniji @Dr_Adeleke @zainab__tiamiyu @particular6 @Exquisita_lady @Okpala_IU @matajson @Oludeewon @yanjus4christ @AdeleyeSamuelA