Introduction to Student Positions

Student positions fall into two categories: academic and non-academic. Eligibility rules for student academic titles are found in the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures; those relating to student non-academic titles are available from Human Resource Services.

Undergraduate Student Positions

Academic positions allow students to perform work for the university that is academic in nature (e.g., research, classroom or laboratory support duties, tutoring). An undergraduate student may be assigned as a Tutor (Undergraduate), Assistant (Undergraduate), or Undergraduate Research Assistant. Undergraduates with assignments to academic positions must be enrolled in at least 12 semester credit hours during long semesters and may not be assigned for more than 20 hours per week of total UT Austin employment. For further information, please see the Student Academic Employment page.

Non-academic positions are diverse and may include a wide variety of duties that are not academic in nature (e.g., clerical, customer service, and technical duties). Non-academic titles may not be used for research related to the student's degree program. Available positions in this category are Student Assistant, Student Associate, Senior Student Associate, Student Technician, Non-Affiliated Student Worker, Housing & Food Resident Assistant, Student Camp Worker, and Camp Resident Assistant. For further information, please see the rules listed below and the Student Non-Academic Employment page.

Graduate Student Positions

Graduate students often hold student academic positions related to their program of study. A graduate student may be assigned as a Teaching Assistant, Assistant Instructor, Graduate Research Assistant, Academic Assistant, Assistant (Graduate) or Tutor (Graduate) for up to 14 long semesters while pursuing a graduate degree at UT Austin. To be eligible for one of these titles during a long semester, a graduate student must remain enrolled in at least 9 semester credit hours. For a summer academic assignment, a graduate student must be enrolled in at least 3 semester credit hours during at least one summer session.

Graduate students also may be employed in student non-academic positions. Non-academic titles may not be used for research related to the student's degree program.

Graduate student assignments in any title at UT Austin may not exceed 20 hours per week during the first two long semesters of graduate study at the university and 30 hours per week during the subsequent semesters, including summer. Detailed information about graduate student employment is available from the Graduate School.

Student Non-academic Positions

Students must be admitted to the university in order to hold these non-academic positions: Student Assistant, Student Associate, Senior Student Associate, or Student Technician, or Housing and Food Resident Assistant. In addition, they must meet the following enrollment criteria:

To be eligible for a fall or spring semester assignment, a student worker must be enrolled for that semester in at least six semester credit hours.
To be eligible for a summer assignment, a student worker must be enrolled in at least three semester credit hours during any term of the summer session or have been enrolled during the previous spring semester in at least six semester credit hours.

To work in the Non-Affiliated Student Worker job title, a student must:

Be admitted to an institution of higher education other than UT Austin;
Be enrolled in high school; OR
Be admitted to UT Austin and enrolled in University Extension.
The student also must meet these enrollment requirements:
- To be eligible for a fall or spring semester assignment, the student must:
  - Be enrolled in his or her institution in at least six semester credit hours for that semester; OR
  - Be enrolled in high school for that semester.
- To be eligible for a summer assignment, the student must:
  - Be enrolled in his or her institution in at least three semester credit hours during any term of the summer session; OR
  - Have been enrolled during the previous spring semester, either in his or her institution in at least six semester credit hours or in high school.

A student who is admitted to UT Austin but does not meet the minimum enrollment requirements without including extension or online course is only eligible for the Non-Affiliated Student Worker title. To count toward the enrollment requirements for that title, the extension or online course must be taken through University Extension.

To work in the Student Camp Worker job title or the Camp Resident Assistant job title, a student must meet the eligibility criteria stated above for either the Non-Affiliated Student Worker job title (if the student is not admitted to UT Austin) or the other student non-academic job titles (if the student is admitted to UT Austin).

Students who have graduated and are no longer students are not eligible for student non-academic positions, with the following exceptions:

Graduating student employees may remain in their student jobs until the official end of the semester in which they graduate.
Students who graduate at the end of the spring semester and who worked in a student non-academic position or an undergraduate academic position during that semester can remain in the student title until August 31 of the year they graduate. High school students who graduate at the end of the spring semester may be assigned to the Non-Affiliated Student Worker title until August 31 of the year they graduate.

Compensation and Benefits

Student Pay Rates

The rates for student academic titles are established each fiscal year by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. The rates for student non-academic titles are established each fiscal year by Human Resource Services. These rates set a minimum and maximum amount that may be paid for each job title, and departments have discretion to determine a pay rate within the established range. A list of student titles and pay rates may be found on the Student Compensation page.

Benefits

For information about insurance and benefits for student employees, please see the Human Resource Services website.

Other Requirements

Criminal background checks are required for all university employees, including student employees.

All student employees also must complete an I-9 Form.

More information about student employment is available on the HRS Student Employee page.