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Writing Studio

Graduate Consultant Positions

Call for Graduate Writing Consultant Applications for 2024-2025

Updates (5/20/2024)

  • We are no longer accepting Graduate Writing Consultant applications for the 2024-2025 academic year.
  • We anticipate reopening applications for the 2025-2026 academic year in January 2025.

Are you interested in joining a committed and engaged community of writers who work to support fellow writers? At the Writing Studio, because we value the perspectives of writers in all disciplines, we are interested in recruiting consultants from departments and programs across the University who have excellent communication and collaboration skills and are highly motivated and eager to learn.

In recent years, our dedicated team of writing consultants has included graduate students from Peabody, Engineering, and the Divinity School as well as from a variety of Arts & Science programs.

Beyond seeking graduate students studying in a variety of fields, we encourage applications from students of diverse backgrounds, including individuals from underrepresented minority backgrounds. We also welcome applications from students who are multilingual or who have experience supporting language learning. The position can count as a Federal Work Study position, and we appreciate applications from students who anticipate receiving Federal Work Study in the coming academic year.

Check out our current staff page for a sense of who’s working here now and these reflections from former Writing Studio consultants for a broader perspective on the position and its benefits.

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Position Description: Graduate Writing Consultant

The Writing Studio employs current Vanderbilt graduate and professional students as hourly Graduate Writing Consultants. This is an in-person, campus-based position. We hire every spring semester for the upcoming academic year. (When circumstances require, we also on rare occasions recruit for graduate writing consultants who will join our team in January.)

Writing consultants gain valuable pedagogical experience in the following ways:

  1. by holding one-to-one appointments with graduate and undergraduate writers,
  2. by leading workshops in undergraduate classrooms,
  3. by facilitating writing groups for graduate and undergraduate students,
  4. by organizing educational programming in an interdisciplinary center.

2024-2025 starting salary: $15.50 per hour

Time commitment: 5-15 hours per week

Graduate consultants work no fewer than 5 hours per week and may work as many as 15 hours per week if their other departmental duties allow. Weekly hours include attendance at a mandatory weekly staff meeting (see below).

Mandatory Training and Weekly Staff Meetings

Please note that all new writing consultants will be required to attend a mandatory (paid) training and orientation in August the week before classes resume. When new graduate consultants have unavoidable conflicts with brief portions of training, it is possible to arrange a make-up sessions for those limited portions. The whole training cannot be reproduced in a make-up session.

August 2024 Writing Studio training schedule*

  • Monday, August 12: Graduate Consultant Welcome and In-Class Workshop Program Training
  • Tuesday, August 13 – Friday, August 16 (9am-4pm, lunch provided): New Writing Consultant Training

Weekly Staff Meetings

All new and experienced writing consultants are also required to participate in mandatory weekly, full-staff training sessions (“staff meetings”) throughout the academic year. Weekly staff meetings are held on Wednesdays 9:00-10:00am and 4:00-5:00pm (consultants commit holding time open in their schedule each semester to attend one or the other).

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The Application

  • UPDATE: We are no longer accepting Graduate Writing Consultant applications for the 2024-2025 academic year.
  • We will begin accepting applications for the 2025-2026 academic year in January 2025 with a priority consideration deadline in March 2025. Review of applications will begin after the priority consideration date, but applications will continue to be accepted until we are fully staffed for 2025-2026.

Interested candidates must provide the following application materials:

  1. a letter demonstrating specific interest in and dedication to the teaching of writing (and confirming your availability for the mandatory August training)
  2. a curriculum vitae
  3. a writing sample of no more than 20 pages (a recent sample showing the candidate’s engagement with the expectations of writing in their field is preferred, but any sample demonstrating one’s writing abilities can be acceptable)
  4. a letter of recommendation from an adviser or other faculty member
  5. a statement from a departmental Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) verifying availability for employment in the Writing Studio*

*About the DGS Statement

We suggest supplying your DGS with the following information.

  • The Writing Studio asks for this verification from each applicant’s DGS in order to identify important factors limiting additional on-campus work hours and sometimes altogether preventing a graduate student from taking on an additional campus work assignment at the Writing Studio.
  • Such considerations include the following:
    • Some departments specifically require that students seek DGS approval for holding on-campus jobs, and we wish to make sure applicants are in compliance.
    • Some fellowships specifically limit graduate students ability to take on outside employment, and we wish to identify these factors early in our screening process.
    • As per Student Employment, all students have a weekly hours limitation that must be taken into consideration:
      • International Graduate Students are limited to 19 hours per week while school is in session. International applicants and DGSs alike should keep in mind that TA assignments typically count as a 19-hour-per-week assignment, preventing an additional Writing Studio work assignment.
      • Graduate / Professional students are limited to 29.5 hours per week, inclusive of all positions, while school is in session. Academic programs may have additional restrictions on maximum number of hours worked weekly.

Submit an Application

All application materials–including letters and DGS statements–can be submitted through the online Graduate Writing Consultant Application form.

Use of the online application is preferred, but materials may also be submitted via e-mail to writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu. (For email submissions, please include “Graduate Consultant Application” in subject line.)

Intent to Apply

This year you can also take a moment to indicate your intent to apply. The online application form now includes an option to register your intent to apply without having all of your application materials ready.

For instance, those who are interested, but unable to apply by the start of applicant review can use this option so to make us aware an application is forthcoming.

Questions?

For more information e-mail John Bradley, Director, at john.bradley@vanderbilt.edu.

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GRAD CHAT SESSIONS

Join us for one of our informal Grad Chat sessions to speak with a member of our administrative team about the position and get your questions answered.

Spring 2024 dates

  • Tuesday, February 27: 10am at Writing Studio
  • Wednesday, March 13: 2pm via Zoom (link via email)

Let us know you are coming and receive Zoom link by filling out our grad chat registration form

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