Graduate Assistantships

The department offers a limited number of teaching and research assistantships each year during the fall and spring terms. Summer assistantship is rare. Awards are competitive and are based upon grade point average and letters of recommendation. Continued assistantship is based on academic standing and academic progress. Students interested in competing for these positions should obtain and complete the necessary form from the sociology department or download the form from the link in the previous section. Generally, graduate assistantships involve a 20 hour/week work schedule with a stipend of $1,686/month. Funded research projects often provide employment opportunities for students. Students may seek additional financial assistance through the University's financial aid office.

If you are interested in applying for a Teaching Assistantship (TA) or Research Assistantship (RA), please carefully read and complete the attached form. The department of sociology awards a number of one-semester assistantships to incoming and current graduate students each year. These awards will be extended if for up to four semesters as long as the assistantship is available to the graduate program and as long as the graduate student qualifies. Depending on budgets, the number of assistantships may vary from year to year. Presently, the department has 10 TA positions and several RA positions, but because of the limited number of assistantships, they are awarded on a competitive basis.

Students should be aware of the fact that assistantships cannot be awarded until acceptance into both the University of Houston and the graduate studies program in the department of sociology is official. In order to be considered for assistantship, the application form must be sent to the department of sociology (graduate adviser) when you apply to the graduate studies program. While every effort is made to ensure a timely decision on awards, because of a variety of factors, there is no specific date by which time the awards are finalized. Once the applicant has been accepted into the sociology graduate studies program, the applicant can contact the graduate adviser for further information and clarifications.

Download the Graduate Assistantship Application form by right clicking on the link below and choosing to save target. Additionally, you can left click and choose to save the form or just view it. For more information on assistantships, read the “financial assistance” section below.

Graduate Assistanship Form

Other Financial Assistance

Werlin Memorial Scholarship
The Joseph S. Werlin Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding graduating sociology major at the University of Houston, who is entering the master's program in sociology. The scholarship is $500. Please contact the graduate adviser for additional details.

Werlin Graduate Educational Fund
In addition to the scholarship, the Werlin family has established the Werlin Fund which can assist graduate students in the travel to conferences to present papers. Please contact the graduate adviser for more details.