Page Comparison

General information

Both undergraduate and graduate student positions fall into two categories - academic and non-academic:

Academic positions allow students to perform work for the university that is academic in nature (e.g., research, classroom or laboratory support duties, tutoring). See the Student Academic Employment page for information including eligibility, enrollment requirements, and maximum allowable work hours. See additional information in the Student Employment section of the Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP).

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. See the Student Non-Academic Employment page for information including eligibility, enrollment requirements, and maximum allowable work hours.

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

a) Graduating student employees may remain in their student jobs until the official end of the semester in which they graduate.

b) 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.

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.

Notes

For detailed information on graduate student employment, see Graduate School: Student Employment.

Minimum enrollment requirements

Minimum enrollment requirements (in semester credit hours) for both undergraduate and graduate academic and non-academic job titles. Source: Enrollment Requirements for Student Job Titles PDF.

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Maximum work hours

Source: Summary of University Limits on Student Work Hours PDF.

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Student compensation

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.

Notes:

• Hourly-paid employees must submit timesheets for payment.
• “Tuition Waiver Eligible” indicates titles eligible to apply for a Resident Tuition Waiver. See Resident Tuition Entitlement > “Eligibility on the Basis of Student Employment.”
• Teaching Assistants, Assistant Instructors, and some Graduate Research Assistants are also eligible for a Tuition Reduction Benefit.

Benefits

For information about insurance and benefits for student employees, please see the following:

• HR: Student Employee Insurance and Benefits
• HR: Academic Graduate Student Employee Insurance Options

Note for benefits-eligible Graduate Academic employment:  finalized Workday assignments and final completion of onboarding tasks drive the activation of insurance records in the My UTBenefits portal. This activation can take up to 48 hours as information feeds from Workday to My UTBenefits and over to BCBS/healthcare providers through nightly data feeds. 

Note for students with Undergraduate and Non-Academic Graduate Jobs:  these students are always non-benefits eligible per chapter 1601 of the TX state constitution. However, they can be enrolled in UT Select if they meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) eligibility.  Also per chapter 1601, classified and student jobs never combine for benefits eligibility purposes.

In-State Tuition Waiver

See Job Titles Qualifying for Entitlement to In-State Tuition PDF. The Graduate School web site has additional information about Resident Tuition Entitlement.

Tuition Reduction Benefit

See the Graduate School web site for eligibility, current rates, and more information about the Tuition Reduction Benefit (TRB).