Community Graduate Assistantships

Expanding opportunities

Connecting graduate students to the community

Looking for fresh talent and new ideas to drive your business forward? Add a Missouri State University graduate assistant to your team. Hosting a GA brings a highly educated student with a diverse set of skills and experiences to your organization.

Contact Dr. Carrisa Hoelscher to learn more.

Two accounting students discussing a project.

Partner with MSU

Invest in your organization

By hosting a Missouri State University graduate assistant, you're an extension of the university. You’ll gain access to:

Innovative thinking and cutting-edge research.
A fresh perspective on your industry.
Strong work ethic and eagerness to apply knowledge to real world problems.
An extended interview period, allowing you to fully evaluate the fit of the candidate with your business.

These graduate assistants are employees of the university - not your organization. We'll work closely with you to make sure this partnership is a success.

Become a host company

Empower your business with innovative thinking and fresh talent

Our graduate assistantship program provides financial assistance and hands-on experience to help our students achieve their career goals. As a community partner, you’ll not only benefit from their talents, but you’ll also contribute to the development of the next generation of leaders as well as the growth and success of our community.

Here's how it works

The process for becoming a host company for MO State graduate assistants is straightforward. We are happy to walk you through the process.

- The business partner identifies a need for a graduate assistant and communicates the duties and desired qualifications to MO State. We work with partners to develop a position description, then advertise the position and actively recruit qualified candidates.
- MO State provides a list of qualified candidates for the partner to review. The partner may request additional information or conduct interviews with the candidates as needed.
- The partner selects a candidate and communicates their selection to MO State. We then process all required paperwork internally and serve as the HR manager. The student is officially our employee, placed at your site for their assistantship duties.
- The graduate assistant contract covers a stipend paid directly to the student and tuition and fees, as well as a small processing fee.
- The 2025-26 contract rates are:
  - Semester-long placement: $12,740
  - Academic-year placement (fall and spring - most common): $25,480
  - Calendar-year placement (fall, spring, and summer): $31,850
- MO State invoices the partner for the one-time fixed cost, depending on the details of the contract.
- MO State assists the partner in onboarding the GA and provides any necessary training to adhere to institutional policy.
- The partner supervises and provides guidance to the GA throughout the duration of the assistantship.
- The partner evaluates the GA’s performance at the end of the assistantship and provides feedback to MO State.
- The partner may choose to renew the GA’s assistantship for an additional academic year if eligible.

Our Partners

Community Partner	GAs Hosted
Abacus!	1
Arkifex Studios	1
Bass Pro Shops	2
Associated Electric Cooperative	1
CNH Reman	2
CoxHealth	8
Empower Abilities	1
Erlen Group	2
OWN Engineering	1
Springfield-Greene County Health Dept	1

Want to talk through the logistics a bit more? Contact Dr. Carrisa Hoelscher via email or at (417) 836-5335.