Working as a Graduate Student

GSRs are selected for high achievement and promise as creative scholars and assist faculty members with research.  Students must be enrolled full-time (12 units) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to qualify for these positions.

Because GSR positions are frequently found through individual contact with faculty members or fellow classmates, students should expect to be matriculated at FSPH for at least several quarters before finding a GSR position. 

TAs are selected on the basis of scholarship and promise as teachers. Duties may include teaching, holding office hours, preparing course materials, and grading under the supervision of faculty members. Students must be enrolled full-time (12 units) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to qualify for these positions. FSPH students may serve as TAs throughout campus in a wide range of departments, and most frequently for undergraduate classes.

TA positions are advertised in a variety of ways including:

• FSPH/UCLA emails
• Subscription to the UCLA TA Marketplace listserv (only open to matriculated university students)
• Contacting hiring departments directly. 

Students serving in GSR or TA positions receive stipends and may be eligible for fee remissions. To qualify for fee remissions (in-state resident tuition), a TA/GSR position needs to be a 25% working appointment (10 hours per week). GSR appointments of at least 45% time (18 hours a week) may also be eligible to receive nonresident tuition. For positions of less than 10 hours a week, tuition is not covered. Note that GSR/TA positions do not cover MPH/DrPH professional fees, regardless of the appointment percentage.

Opprtunities to work on campus pay an hourly rate and are available throughout the academic year on the university’s career services platform, Handshake and on the MyUCLA portal. Work-study positions are limited to students who have been awarded work-study funding based on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).