International applicants must, in general, meet the requirements stipulated above. Three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant s potential for graduate study should be sent to the department of political science. Approximately one-half of the graduate students in residence in Political Science at UTK receive some form of financial assistance. There are two forms of assistantships available at the department level. Graduate assistantships are one-quarter time appointments, requiring ten to twelve hours of work per week.
Graduate assistants perform general service tasks for faculty, including grading, research, etc.
Teaching assistantships are one-half time appointments, requiring approximately twenty hours of work per week. During their first semester, teaching assistants are assigned to a faculty mentor, under whom they learn the basics of teaching college-level classes. Their duties include writing and grading exams, and giving some lectures. After the first semester, teaching assistants are expected to take full responsibility for their own course, usually a lower-division introductory class. Teaching assistants are responsible for two courses per academic year, except in the first year, in which teaching assistants will be responsible for one course in the second semester.