Graduate Teaching Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and Research Assistants demand higher pay at the University of Georgia.

Graduate workers perform critical work for the university. Without our labor, classes would not be taught, research would come to a halt, and critical administrative efforts would go undone. The United Campus Workers of Georgia rejects the notion that graduate workers' labor is less valuable because they are students and workers concurrently.

UGA’s base graduate worker stipends are $18,892 for master’s students and $20,427 for doctoral students. Graduate teaching and research stipends do not cover the cost of living for a single adult living in Athens. This is especially the case when one considers the cost of student fees ($1,390/yr), parking permits ($40/month), and graduate student health insurance ($1,428/yr).

Right now, Athens is currently facing a housing crisis. Since 2019, Athens has experienced a 35% increase in rental prices, one of the highest rental increases across the country.

According to the MIT living wage calculator, the living wage for a single adult living in Athens is $35,041.46, when adjusted for inflation. Few graduate workers at this flagship institution can afford to live in Athens. Many graduates have moved across the state or country to come to UGA and now find themselves unable to afford to live where they are employed. With this in mind, we demand a minimum stipend of $35,000 per year.

The University of Georgia is the flagship institution of the University System of Georgia. Without the essential work and research that graduate workers perform, the University of Georgia could not maintain excellence in research or teaching. When pay does not meet basic needs of graduate workers, the entire university suffers. We call upon leadership to address this issue head-on and invest in UGA’s graduate workers.  

We call on President Jere Morehead to:

1. Raise all graduate assistantship compensation to a minimum of $35,000/year.

2. Implement annual cost of living adjustments for graduate student stipends

3. Adjust the pay cycle for graduate workers to biweekly instead of monthly

* The MIT Living Wage was adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Calculator