In 2006-2007, full-time graduate tuition for Georgia residents is $1,946/semester and for out-of-state residents it is $7,785/semester. In addition, all students must pay a flat fee of $463/semester.
The Religious Studies Department offers, on a competitive basis, several types of assistantships. All types of assistantships include a full waiver of tuition. All students granted an assistantship, whether residents or nonresidents, pay only the flat fee mentioned in the previous paragraph.
In addition, assistants receive a stipend of $2,000 or more per semester. Assuming satisfactory performance, students admitted with assistantships can usually expect to receive four semesters of stipend support. Support past this time is possible but should not be expected.
All types of assistants must register for at least 18 hours of graduate level credit each semester. These 18 hours should include at least 3 hours of Rels 8960, Research Assistantship. Students who receive an assistantship for the summer term must register for 18 hours during the summer semester. While the specific tasks asked of assistants vary somewhat from year to year, what follows should provide some sense of what an assistant might expect to do:
Ideally, graduate students will become Graduate Teaching Assistants only after completing most of their coursework. Before becoming a GTA, a student must have successfully completed Phil 8970 (Teaching Philosophy). In addition, every GTA will take Phil 8980 (Teaching Philosophy Practicum) when they are teaching. Both Phil 8970 and 8980 are taught by the Coordinator of Graduate Teaching, and the department takes pride in the training and support it gives to its graduate student teachers.
There is no special application form. Unless a student asks not to be considered for an assistantship, all those newly accepted into the program are considered. Students must be enrolled in classes fulltime and be in residence to receive an assistantship.
The department is forced to make difficult decisions and cannot provide assistance to all those who deserve it. For those applying to the program, assistantship decisions are based on the materials in the admission file and the procedure is similar to the one described under applying. For students in the program, factors such as GPA, progress towards the degree, and the professors' views of the academic ability of the applicant are considered.
On the last business day of the month. Note that the first paycheck of an academic year is paid on the last of September.
Students in this situation are eligible to be the primary instructors of Phil 1010, Critical Thinking. Once a student has earned the M.A. she is eligible to apply for a visiting instructor position in the Philosophy department. Visiting instructors teach Critical Thinking and Great Questions of Philosophy. They teach 10-12 semester hours per term (typically 4-5 sections and 1 or 2 preparations). At GSU, Critical Thinking is a 2 semester-hour course and Great Questions of Philosophy is a 3 semester-hour course. The salary for the two-semester academic year is approximately $28,000 and the position carries full benefits.
Visit the webpage for the Graduate Office www.cas.gsu.edu/graduate-studies and follow the links.