Policies and Procedures for

Graduate Assistantships (GAs) at QU

Introduction
Qatar University offers Graduate Assistantship (GA) awards on a competitive basis to
selected newly admitted graduate students applying from inside Qatar as well as from
outside. All of those applying for admission and satisfy admission requirements and
eligibility for the assistantship will be considered for the award. The graduate student is
expected to assist in laboratory instruction and teaching related tasks. The duties of the
GAs are performed under the supervision of faculty members in the academic
department. The number of graduate assistantships awarded depends upon the teaching
needs in each college as they relate to course offerings, laboratory sections, enrollment,
and number of faculty members involved. A graduate assistantship will be paid an hourly
rate for the number of work hours executed per month. This is supposed to cover tuition,
housing, travel and other personal expenses.

Definition
Graduate Assistant (GA): Graduate assistants are full time postgraduate students
registered toward the fulfillment of a graduate degree requirement at Qatar University
(QU). The graduate assistant will work in direct support of course and laboratory
instruction and will assist students on a regular basis in accordance with the load assigned
by his or her department chair or designated supervisor which may include other
academic duties. Graduate assistants are directly supervised by faculty members. They
are not considered employees of Qatar University.
Table (1) defines the full-time minimum enrollment status for a graduate assistant (GA)
in the Fall and Spring semesters. The GAs should not register for less than 9 credit
hours per semester unless in the last semester where the student is expected to graduate.
Duties of a graduate assistant can be a combination of teaching assignments and other
services assigned by the department.

Table (1): Full-time minimum enrollment status and number of service hours
Number of
registered credits
paid by QU
9
9
9
9

Teaching service
hours to the
department
20
14
7
0

Other service
hours as assigned
by the department
0
6
13
20

Total GAs load

distribution (%)
100%
100%
100%
100%

Eligibility and Application Process

A student may be considered for a GA position based on:
1. The student is either accepted for admission or already enrolled in a graduate
program at QU.
2. The student has demonstrated an exceptional performance at the undergraduate
level (for those applying for a Master degree) or Masters level (for those
applying for a PhD degree). Exceptional performance is defined by no less than a
GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0 scale.
3. A graduate assistant who is applying for a program that is either taught in
English/Arabic or uses English/Arabic extensively, must fulfill the language
proficiency defined by the University.
Application for a graduate assistantship should accompany the application for admission
to the graduate degree program. Deadlines of applications for the GA are the same as
those for admission.

Maintaining the GA
All those benefiting from the GA scheme must satisfy the following:
1. The student must maintain a minimum of 3.0 GPA while at QU
2. The student must be in good academic standing at QU. A student on probation is
not eligible for a graduate assistantship and can not hold one.
3. A student who is appointed as a full-time graduate assistant at QU should not
hold, simultaneously, other employment commitments.
4. A student is not permitted to hold a graduate assistantship at QU concurrently
with an assistantship at any other institution.

Appointment
The Chair of the Department should recommend to the Dean of the relevant College the
names of the admitted students who are recommended for graduate assistantship, their
academic status, workload, and assigned duties. The list of recommended GAs must be
received by the Deans offices at the same time the list of approved accepted graduate
students list. Those students selected to receive the GA positions are informed in writing
after they confirm that they will be attending QU for graduate studies.
Once all approvals are confirmed and prior to the starting date of the appointment, newly
accepted graduate assistants should receive a letter (email) from VPCAO office (with a
copy to the Dean and Chair of the concerned GA) summarizing their general duties and a
link where they can find the QU rules and regulations. In the first week of commencing
duty, graduate assistants will go through an initial orientation session of their assigned
duties by their supervisors as designated by the Chair of the Department. This may
include a description of specific duties, standards for evaluation of performance, training
as appropriate if GAs are assigned to laboratory instructions, and resources available
amongst others. A hard copy of the assignment in general or specific terms will be given
to the GAs.
Once the graduate assistant arrives on campus, a special contract should be prepared and
signed at the QU HR office; a copy will be handed to the GA for his/her future reference.
In case a student resigns from a GA appointment before the end a semester, the student
should send a letter to the Chair of the Department as early as possible, stating the
reasons for his/her resignation. Termination of a contract must follow the QU procedures
and guidelines.
Reappointment to a GA position is contingent upon prior performance, departmental
research and teaching needs, and available funds.

Meeting the Language Proficiency Requirements

New graduate students must show that they have met the minimum English language
proficiency requirements (TOEFL or IELTS tests), as well as that of the Arabic language
proficiency requirements, if required. Applicants should contact their academic
departments or the Admission Office for further information.

Maximum Duration of GA Support

The maximum length of a full-time GA for receiving support is limited to the normal
length of time for completing the degree, in most cases not to exceed two years for a
Masters degree student and four years for a doctoral degree student.

Responsibilities and Load

The duties and responsibilities of GAs should be clearly stated in the contract. GAs will
serve under the direction and supervision of appointed faculty members as designated by
the Chair of the Department. The following guidelines apply:
1. Graduate teaching responsibilities may include assignments such as assisting in
laboratory sessions, teaching tutorials and help sessions, help in grading laboratory
reports/papers and quizzes, proctoring exams, and organizing/uploading course
handouts as instructed by the supervising faculty. In addition, graduate assistants
could be assigned additional academic and/or research duties as deemed appropriate
by the department chair.
2. Full-time students awarded GAs are not allowed to work outside the University.
3. Full support for a GA is defined as being registered for 9 credit hours.
4. A full-time GA works 20 hours per week.
5. GAs are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity
and abide by college and University rules and regulations.
6. GAs are not permitted to enroll in any course for which they are assigned
assistantship responsibilities.
7. A GA who drops a course, withdraws from the University, or resigns an assistantship
after the drop and add period of the semester, will be responsible for all expensespaid.
8. A GA can hold only one assistantship at a time.

Compensation
A GA will be paid QR180 per hour for 20 hours of work per week. He/she is personally
responsible for all of his/her expenses, including housing, tuition, insurance, travel and
any other incurred expense while studying at Qatar University.

Evaluation
The faculty member supervising or directing the instructional activities of the GA, should
complete an evaluation form of the students performance at the end of each term and submit
it to the department chair. The department chair will evaluate all GAs working in the
department at the end of every academic year, and provide each one of them with a written
evaluation of performance. A copy of this formal evaluation should be sent to the deans
office, and to the VPCAO Office for record.

Summer Appointment of GAs

If no teaching assistantships available during the summer, GAs may be hired as research
assistants by faculty who have research grants, or be assigned other duties based on the
approval of the VPCAO.

End of Contract
Graduate assistants are expected to meet the standards of performance described at the
time of their appointment, and to maintain satisfactory academic progress toward their
degree. Their contract may be terminated with one months notice at any time that their
performance is considered to be unsatisfactory by the concerned department.
Although, immediate end of contract may be called upon for serious misbehavior or
failure to perform and attend to duties, all terminations must follow the legal guidelines
adopted by QU. Any appeals of the termination decision should also follow QU
guidelines.

Housing
Housing for graduate students is available at Qatar University. Each graduate student will
have his/her own room. The rent at QU housing is 2,000 QAR per month. This includes
the rent, three meals per day and transportation from the housing complex to campus.
For those who decide to use QU Housing, please contact Mr. Ibrahim Hashim Al-Sada,
Section Head of Male Student Housing, alsada@qu.edu.qa OR male.housing@qu.edu.qa,
Tel.: +974 4403 3187.
When you contact Mr. Ibrahim, make sure to give your arrival date and time so that they
can arrange to receive you at the Airport.
For those who prefer to live outside the university housing, the rent ranges from 3,000 to
5,000 QAR per month and transportation is not included. The university does not arrange
for outside housing.