Graduate Students - Interested in being a Teaching Assistant. Read our Teaching Assistant Information Sheet for details.

Complete our Teaching Assistant Application form and return it to the Department office. Should your application be approved, a teaching assistant assignment will be for either 25% time or 50% time appointment.

Other student jobs may be available within the Department of Geological Sciences. A pre-application for student employment is available under our student department forms section.

All candidates for the M.S. degree must have a Graduate Committee. The committee will consist of a chair (student's advisor) and a minimum of two other faculty members of the graduate faculty. It is highly recommended by the time the student reaches 15 hours of graduate coursework that the committee has been chosen and on file in the department office. This will include a priliminary Program of Study.

Pending budget availability, funding may be available from the department to supplement your master's thesis work.
a) Up to $500 per academic year may be available to support miscellaneous expenses for field and laboratory supplies and travel expenses associated with an individual's master's thesis research.
b) Support for travel to meetings may be available if an abstract has been accepted and a poster or oral presentation will be made.

If you are interested is thesis support, fill out the Request for Financial Support of Masters Thesis Student Research Expenses form, obtain your faculty supervisor/sponsor signature, and return to the Department office for final review. You will be notified by email if your request has been granted or denied. If you are requesting funds for travel related expenses, it is imperative that you follow the Student Travel Guidelines. Failure to follow these guidelines, may result in your application for support to be denied.

Part of the duties of a teaching assistant is to participate and/or be an approved driver for geology field trips sponsored by the Department. It is recommended, at the time that your TA application is made, that you visit the UTSA-Police Department's Driver Training and Record Request web page and submit the Texas Driver's Record Request (DR-1 Form), and take the Driver Training sponsored by the UTSAPD. (You must have a valid state of Texas Driver's license.) Please notify the Department office and your faculty supervisor that you have submitted your DR-1 and taken the driver's training. The DR-1 must be renewed annually.

The department conducts class field trips throughout the long terms (fall/spring). It is expected that the student will participate and adhere to the policies set forth in the Handbook of Operating Procedures: HOP 5.18 - Student Travel Policy, and follow the Student Code of Conduct.

Forms required for all department sponsored field trips: Student Travel Authorization Request | List of Participants, Emergency Contacts | Release and Indemnification Agreement for Participant. If an individual request, see the department office for assistants with these forms. If it is a class request, see your instructor.

NOTE: All student requests for travel is required to be submitted to the department office no later than 10 business days prior to the trip.

Additional Resources for Student Travel Grant Opportunities:

American Geophysical Union (AGU) Student Travel Grants

American Meteorological Society (AMS) Student Travel Grants

The Geological Society of American (GSA) Travel Grants

National Science Foundation (NSF) Specialized Information for Graduate Students