Graduate assistants are expected to devote full-time effort to their studies and the duties of their award.

They are not permitted to hold any other job during the term of their assistantship; however, they may be offered limited extra work on campus. Graduate assistants who are not on F-1 or J-1 visas can be offered overload work that does not exceed an average of 6 hours a week or 90 hours a semester, for a total of 270 hours a year (or three semesters). As part of this work, graduate assistants may be hired to teach one 3-semester-hour course as an overload during the year (180 hours). The hours worked during the weeks between semesters are included in this total.