Graduate Research Assistant Program

Graduate Research Assistant Program

2026 Winter/Spring Quarter

The Graduate Research Assistant Program offers graduate students an opportunity to work closely with faculty on a research project or creative activity that is related to the students' academic studies/pursuits. Student assistants should not be used as general clerical help or as teaching assistants. Students will work either 100 or 200 hours per quarter under the direction of a faculty member.

Eligibility

All CDM full-time faculty, including those on research leave, are eligible to apply for graduate research assistants through this program. A graduate research assistant can be assigned to either an individual faculty member, or to multiple faculty members collaborating on a project or activity. The faculty member(s) and a pre-selected graduate student (by the faculty member) must apply together.

CDM PhD students and graduate students pursuing a MS, MA, or MFA, are eligible to apply provided that the student meets the following criteria:

  • The student has successfully completed all courses in the introductory phase of their program of study, if their program of study has an introductory phase.
  • The student is in good standing and has a DePaul GPA of at least a 3.0 at the time of the application, if the student has already completed coursework at DePaul.

Students who hold a full-time or part-time university faculty or staff position are not eligible for a graduate assistantship. Students who hold student worker positions are eligible to apply for a graduate assistantship. The total number of hours worked for the graduate assistantship and all other student employment positions cannot exceed 20 hours per week.

Selection Criteria

The CDM selection committee includes members of the CDM Research committee and an Associate Dean. The selection committee will evaluate the proposal and provide recommendations for funding to the Dean. The number of proposals that will be approved at each application cycle depends on the available funding. Awards notifications will be sent to faculty and graduate students by the deadline posted on this page.

Evaluation criteria will include:

  • Equitable distribution of available assistantships across schools and faculty.
  • The student’s qualifications for Research Assistant work.
  • The value of the research project itself.
  • The project's potential to provide real involvement and positive learning outcomes for the Graduate Research Assistant.
  • Special consideration will be given to first-time faculty applications and applications by untenured tenure-track faculty, and
  • Proposals that contribute to initiatives aiming to increase inclusiveness and social justice.

Application

All applications for 2026 Winter/Spring funding must be received by 5pm on November 15th, 2025.

A faculty member may apply for a Graduate Research Assistant for 1 or 2 quarters by completing the faculty application form on MyCDM. Once the application form is submitted, the student will receive an email with a link to the student application form. Both faculty and student application forms must be submitted before the deadline.

For more information, please contact Iyad Kanj, CDM Associate Dean.

Funding

  • Partial assistantships require that the student work 10 hours per week and include one tuition waiver for a four-credit hour CDM course required for their degree and a stipend of $1660 before taxes, paid biweekly over the course of the quarter, corresponding to 100 hours of work total.
  • Full assistantships require that the student work 20 hours per week and include two tuition waivers (see link above), each tuition waiver is for a four-credit hour CDM course required for their degree, and a stipend of $3320 before taxes, paid biweekly over the course of the quarter, corresponding to 200 hours of work total.

Tuition waivers may only be used for CDM courses required for their degree.

Due to federal regulations, any scholarship, grant or other award must be included in the student’s Financial Aid Package and considered in their total Cost of Attendance. A scholarship, grant, assistantship, stipend or award received at any time during the year may affect the student’s financial aid, including loans. The graduate assistantship may also affect the student’s eligibility for any federal, state and institutional aid they may been awarded, including any institutional tuition-restricted or need-based aid. Additionally, the tuition waivers are funded by the university, and a student cannot receive any other university scholarships or funding in conjunction with the graduate assistantship. This includes, for instance, admission-based scholarships, Corporate Partnership discounts, and the Double Demon scholarship. The student must contact the Office of Financial Aid for questions regarding scholarships and financial aid.

Timeline

  • Deadline for applications: 5PM (CST), November 15th, 2025.
  • Notifications to faculty by December 7th, 2025.

At the end of the Spring quarter, the faculty member evaluates the performance and progress made by the student using the faculty evaluation form. The Student evaluates the graduate research experience using the student evaluation form. All evaluations must be submitted by June 30th, 2026. Failure to submit the evaluations may result in the faculty member being ineligible for applying to this program in the future.