Working Title: Copywriter for Graduate Recruitment and Communications, Graduate Assistant

State Role Title: Graduate Assistant

Position Type: Graduate Assistant

Position Status: Part-Time

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt: Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: The Graduate School

Department: 100140 - Graduate School

Pay Band: N/A

Pay Rate: Stipend

Specify Range or Amount: 10,110 (25-26 rate) 

Is this a JMU only position? N/A

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? N/A

Beginning Review Date: 04/03/26

About JMU:

Situated in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is a vibrant community with a population of approximately 52,000. Harrisonburg is conveniently located approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA.

JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and supportive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 21,000 undergraduate and 1,800 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information:

The Graduate School (TGS) is the administrative office responsible for graduate education, campus wide. Our office responsibilities include advocacy for graduate education; policy development and implementation; communication with graduate students and faculty; student recruitment, admission, graduate student support; and management of campus-wide programs for graduate students such as orientation, professional development events, awards, and commencement.
TGS is seeking applications for a Graduate Assistant who will assist with communication, recruitment marketing, event management, web development, social media as well as special projects in support of the responsibilities of our office. We welcome applications from full-time graduate students enrolled in any graduate program.
A Graduate Assistant in this role can expect to have the opportunity to develop skills that are consistent with what you do in your field. These skills will include: Communication, content design and writing, project management, web content development, creativity, innovation, teamwork, time management, and independent responsibility. You will also develop other skills that would be helpful for your own professional development. The skills practiced and work products developed can enhance the graduate student’s resume and help the student develop and demonstrate important workplace skills.
This Graduate Assistant is expected to work 20 hours per week, primarily during regular business hours 8:00-5:00 M-F. The successful candidate will begin their position when school begins in August 2026.
This is a one-year appointment, and preference will be given to students who anticipate being eligible to continue the assistantship for one or more additional years.

Duties and Responsibilities:

-Write feature stories regarding graduate student and alumni success at JMU.
-Develop and edit informative materials that update and improve JMU’s website content, e-mail messaging, and other written materials that encourage potential students to consider JMU for their graduate experience.
-Systematically update a Graduate Student blog.
-Review graduate education websites, suggest improvements, and assist with website updates.
-Contribute to social media content gathering, design, strategy, and posts.
-Contribute to the planning and implementation of our student-recruitment strategy.
-Help to represent JMU at graduate recruitment events.
-Assist the Graduate School with the implementation of campus-wide programs such as our Graduate Fair, 3-MT Competition, and Graduate Showcase.
-Assist the Interim Associate Dean and other staff members with special projects.

Qualifications:

Qualified applicants must be full-time matriculated graduate students who demonstrate the following characteristics:
-Excellent writing and editing skills in English.
-Personable. Able to comfortably engage in conversations and conduct interviews with potential students, current students, alumni, faculty and staff.
-A high-level of motivation, regularly demonstrated initiative, good time-management skills, and the ability to be productive with minimal supervision.
-Attention to detail.
-Ability to work as a team player.
-Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, social media platforms, and other software.
-Prior experience developing content for digital platforms (web, e-mail, social media) is preferred.

Additional Posting Information:

Conditions of Employment:  

Students may apply to a graduate assistantship prior to being accepted into a graduate program. However, to be eligible to receive an assistantship upon entry into a graduate program, the following criteria must be met:

The student must be conditionally or unconditionally accepted into a graduate program. Students who are provisionally accepted will not be eligible until they achieve conditional or unconditional acceptance into their program.

The students must have an official transcript on file indicating completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution or agency

After receiving an assistantship, the student must maintain at least a 3.0 graduate GPA in order to retain or reapply for the assistantship.

These are minimum criteria. Graduate program coordinators have the right to impose additional criteria if they see fit.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are a student with a disability and need assistance please contact the Office of Disability Services at (540) 568-6705 or disability-svcs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the Office of Disability Services, located in the Student Success Center, Suite 1202 and they will be happy to assist you.