[Sshagradstudents] Priority for guaranteed funding packages AY 2025‐2026

[ucm ssha.associatedean]

Dear SSHA Graduate Students,

This outreach provides guidance and a reminder about funding commitments for teaching assignments.

Teaching Assistant employment appointments are a valuable part of students' professional experience, developing a variety of academic and teaching skills. Most graduate students are supported by funding packages, which could be an annual or multi‐year guarantee.

Beginning in 2017, as part of recruitments and employment, SSHA offers five‐year guaranteed funding packages for graduate students. This funding is in these various forms:

o Teaching Assistant/Teaching Fellow
o Graduate Student Researcher
o SSHA and/or Graduate Program Fellowship
o Or combination of any of these

These funding guarantees are priority in staffing teaching assistant and fellow appointments.
Eligibility is distinct from a funding commitment.

Eligibility for funding is anchored in systemwide policy in APM 4101 410.17c[1]: “3. Service Appointment Periods and Limitations: Academic Student Employees may be appointed for one semester or a full academic year, and the appointments are self‐terminating. Total combined academic student employment services cannot exceed 12 semesters (14 for the students enrolled during the Spring 2020 through Spring 2022 semesters). The total service of a graduate student includes all Teaching Assistant, Teaching Fellow, and ASE appointments at all UC campuses, regardless of the appointment percentage (Summer appointments are excluded from these limits). Requests for exceptions beyond this limit will not be approved.”

This TA term eligibility does not translate into a guarantee of funding, rather it is eligibility if funding and enrollment allows.

This is a reminder of a few planning steps to take at this time, with Fall 2025 graduate student appointments being in progress. Appointment notifications will be by July 15th:

o Check your funding letter, as a reminder about guarantees versus eligibility
o Engage in continued academic progress with your advisor

Being beyond a guarantee is an exception with review and associated funding, which all graduate programs are engaging with support from SSHA. From a program standpoint, several standard criteria relate to assigning teaching assistantships to students beyond these guaranteed funding packages: (1) teaching qualifications associated instructional demand and (2) normative time to degree policy.

Support beyond a guarantee for the sixth year is a continued and shared priority, where possible. This summary is to bring awareness to how funding packages are supported and organized, as we move forward with review and planning. We support your progress and continued success.


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[1] APM 410 is located at https://www.ucop.edu/academic‐personnel‐programs/_files/apm/apm‐410.pdf



Anne Zanzucchi
Associate Dean
School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts
University of California, Merced
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