Graduate and Teaching Assistantship Requirements
Students within their first five years of study may be appointed as a graduate teaching assistant (for details on requirements for teaching at Northwestern, visit our Policy section). Students in University funded programs (humanities and social sciences) in their sixth year may be appointed by their department to a graduate/teaching assistantship if they have student banked quarters and there is a specific teaching need. Students may be funded as teaching assistants past year five on non-TGS funds. Funded PhD and MFA students may work no more than 20 hours per week from all sources, including assistantships.
In addition to reviewing the Regulations Governing Recipients of University Assistance, international PhD and MFA students whose primary language is not English are required to fulfill The Graduate School’s English proficiency requirement before being appointed as graduate or teaching assistants. English Language Programs offers services to support students as they work to fulfill this requirement.
Students who satisfy any one of the criteria below fulfill TGS’s English proficiency requirement. Score thresholds have been selected to correlate across exam formats.
| Assessment Name | Passing Score |
|---|---|
| TOEFL iBT* | 26 or higher on Speaking Section |
| IELTS* | 8 or higher on Speaking Section |
| Versant English Test** | 65 or higher |
| SPEAK Test | 63 or 64 on two separate Versant tests |
| Teaching Demonstration Assessment | Earned score of Provisional Pass or Pass |
*Only valid TOEFL iBT and IELTS scores count towards fulfillment of requirement. TOEFL iBT and IELTS scores are considered valid for two years after the test date. Other standardized test scores, such as TOEFL pBT, PTE, etc. are not accepted.
** Only Versant/SPEAK test scores from Versant and SPEAK tests administered at Northwestern University count toward fulfillment of TGS’s English proficiency requirement.
Students and programs will be contacted about upcoming proficiency test opportunities throughout the academic year.