"Culture at Work" Graduate Assistantships

Update for AY 2021-2022: Culture at Work GRA positions are generally nine-month positions (Fall and Spring semesters) at 50% or 20 hours per week. In AY 2021-2022, the standard stipend rate will be $1391 per month.

Culture at Work GRAs take a leadership role in program development activities and build essential 21st-century skills in project management, teamwork, global competence, and professional communication. Projects will be developed in consultation with faculty and School leadership and may include the following: communications, marketing, undergraduate engagement and community-building, media production, grant-writing, project management, relationship-building with industry partners, Global Media Fest, Global Career Intensive, undergraduate tutoring, study abroad development.

Sample Positions:

• Assistant Coordinator of Marketing, Modern Languages
• Assistant Coordinator of Graduate Programs, National Communications
• Assistant Editor of Global Speculative Fiction, a Digital Publication
• Assistant to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
• Assistant Coordinator of Modern Languages News

Professional Development:

• Students work closely with a supervisor gaining hands-on experience in real-world professional contexts in fields including communications, program development, research, grant-writing, and community engagement
• Students complete a course or series of workshops, which introduce major frameworks and best practices in cultural management and culture creation, community-building, leadership, and diversity and inclusion. Students will work with material from psychology, sociology, organizational behavior, gender studies, and cross-cultural communication.
• Students also gain career advising in resume and interview preparation, learning how to describe their work effectively in a professional setting.

Compensation Package:

The majority of our positions are 33% hires for two semesters: Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. This means that they carry a workload expectation of 13-15 hours/week, pay a standard monthly stipend rate and include a waiver for 100% of tuition for the employed semesters (Fall 2020 and Spring 2021). The positions do not include summer funding or summer tuition.

Step 1: Admissions | Eligibility for GRA Positions is stated in the offer letter.
When a student is admitted into the Graduate Program, the admissions committee also makes a decision about whether a student is eligible to receive funding. All students who receive a “recommendation to receive funding” in their letter are eligible to participate in GRA selection. Funding is not guaranteed unless explicitly stated in the offer letter, as the availability of GRA positions depends on a variety of factors.

Step 2: Selection Process | Students submit a resume and view available positions.
After admissions and once positions become available, students who have been recommended for funding receive access to a listing of position descriptions. Students can submit their top three choices, as well as a copy of their resume and a brief statement explaining their interests. We also ask students to list their top skills, as well as the skills they hope to develop during the year.

Step 3: Match-making Process | Supervisors review materials.
Students’ resumes and top choices are shared with supervisors, and a match-making process takes place in order to optimize the fit between all students and supervisors. While we cannot guarantee a placement, we do our best to position you in the role that will draw on your skills and interests, as well as facilitate your own professional growth during the year.

The Culture at Work GRA Program brings the skills learned in the humanities classroom into the professional world. We aim to position graduate students in language and culture in diverse real-world contexts where their communication, global competence, empathy, writing, and management abilities can make an impact and change the conversation in a project or global issue.

We are looking for partners to serve as project supervisors in this program. If you are interested in working with us, please submit a brief proposal for a potential GRA position. Please tell us what type of challenge you are encountering, how a communications-based or culture-based approach might help, and the type of work you would like a GRA to conduct. For GMC-related positions, please email gmc@iac.gatech.edu. For ALIS-related positions, please email grad@modlangs.gatech.edu.