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Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships

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Graduate Scholarships

Thank you for your interest in the Graduate Assistantship positions at St. John’s University. 

A limited number of Graduate Assistantships and University Fellowships are granted to various academic departments within each school and college of the University. Graduate Assistantships are also available in administrative departments. 

  • Students who are currently enrolled in a graduate program at St. John's University can apply via the Handshake app chiclet found in the St. John's Signon dashboard.
  • New students with a stjohns.edu email address can register online. 
  • Students who are applying for admission to a graduate program at St. John's University should apply by logging into their Student Portal at grad.stjohns.edu/apply. The assistantship/fellowship application will be available in the Student Portal after submission of the graduate application for admission, as long as the student replies "Yes" to the question, "Are you interested in a Graduate Assistant position?" on page 1.

Graduate Assistantships and Doctoral Fellows Forms

Academic Criteria

Awards are given on the basis of academic merit. Applicants for Doctoral Fellowships and Graduate Assistantships are only expected to submit GRE or GMAT scores if they are required to do so within their primary department of study.

All awardees are expected to have an undergraduate overall GPA of at least 3.20. Graduate Assistants will be expected to show evidence of a 3.20 GPA or above in any previous graduate work. Doctoral Fellows will be expected to show evidence of 3.5 GPA or above in any previous graduate work. Graduate Assistants who do not maintain these minimum GPAs will not be eligible to keep their assistantships.

The Graduate Admissions Assistance Program (GAAP) oversees graduate student applications to external scholarships. The staff of the GAAP Office will assist you in determining your eligibility for scholarships and in completing the application process. In addition to our regular Graduate Assistantships and Doctoral Fellowships, several additional scholarships are available including the Pope Paul VI Scholarship Program and the Catholic School Teacher Scholarship.

Graduate Assistantship and Doctoral Fellows Position Descriptions

There are two main types of academic graduate assistantships available: Graduate Assistantships for master’s students, and Doctoral Fellows for doctoral students. Students must be enrolled in a program of study affiliated with the department or program offering the assistantship. The number of Graduate Assistantships and Doctoral Fellowships may vary from year to year.  

Graduate Assistantships

There are two types of Graduate Assistantships. The first type of Graduate Assistantship is an academic assistantship. Graduate Assistants with academic assistantships are assigned to their home departments and are expected to assist in teaching and/or to conduct research within their disciplines. Academic Graduate Assistants work up to 20 hours per week. Teaching duties cannot include being the instructor of record. It is recommended that Academic Graduate Assistants should devote on average up to 5 hours per week engaged in assisting in the teaching or mentoring of students.

The other type of Graduate Assistantship is a non-academic assistantship. Graduate Assistants with non-academic assistantships are assigned to offices throughout the University and are not directly affiliated with their home departments. Non-Academic Graduate Assistants are not expected to teach or conduct research, but their learning experiences should have relevance to their fields of study. Non-Academic Graduate Assistants are expected to work up to 20 hours per week for an administrator and are not expected to engage in the assistance of teaching or mentoring of students.

Both master’s and doctoral students are eligible for Graduate Assistantship positions.

Doctoral Fellowships

Doctoral Fellowships are awarded to doctoral students only; these fellowships reside only in academic departments, with the exception of the Institute for Writing Studies (See “Other Program Descriptions,” below). Doctoral Fellows conduct research and may teach. Teaching activities might include lab supervision, serving as instructor of record for select undergraduate courses, or tutoring students. Research must be confined to the needs of the program, faculty, or student.  Doctoral Fellows work up to 20 hours per week. It is recommended that Doctoral Fellows should devote on average up to 5 hours per week engaged in the teaching or mentoring of students.

Other Graduate Assistantships (Non-Academic)

Other types of Graduate Assistantships are assigned to non-academic departments throughout the University, which are not directly affiliated with the student’s home department. These Graduate Assistantships do not require teaching or research in an academic discipline but administrative Graduate Assistants are expected to work up to 20 hours per week for an administrative unit.