Department of Psychology

College of Humanities and Sciences

Current StudentsGive

Second Jobs Policy

This policy and procedural page pertains to graduate students in the VCU Department of Psychology.

Graduate study at VCU in psychology is a full-time endeavor. Most graduate students will have funding via a graduate teaching assistantship (GTA), graduate research assistantship (GRA) or a doctoral assistantship (DA)—positions that involve about 20 hours/week of work. The Graduate School, the College of Humanities and Sciences and the Department of Psychology encourage most students to limit their work to the GTA, GRA or DA position alone.

However, we recognize that some students may have opportunities for additional part-time employment during their graduate studies that will benefit the student’s career development. As a result, graduate students in psychology funded on a GTA, GRA or DA are permitted to have a second job under certain conditions. This page outlines those conditions. All conditions must be met for a graduate student to hold a second job.

  • Second job requirement: Your second job cannot be used to perform the same duties as your GRA assignment. Specifically, you cannot have the same supervisor, work location, customers and work title as you GRA.
  • F1 visa status: International students on an F1 visa cannot hold a second job during the semester. F1 visa on campus employment guidance specifies a 20 hours per week limit during the semester. There is an allowance to work up to 40 hours during winter and summer break only.
  • Advisor permission: A graduate student must receive written (email is acceptable) permission from their advisor and their program’s director for the second job. Students must request the second job in writing and the advisor and program director must grant the permission in writing and send to the graduate director.
  • Departmental permission: A graduate student must receive written (email is acceptable) permission from the department’s director of graduate studies for the second job. The graduate director will only grant permission after receiving written permission from the advisor and program director. All approvals must then be forwarded to the HR coordinator for service center clearance and position creation. Please note: If a second job is external to Psychology, but is in another unit within VCU, approvals must still be forwarded to the HR coordinator for tracking purposes.
  • Hourly maximum of eight hours per week: The second job must not ever exceed eight hours/week for a GTA/GRA/DA. Hourly employees must never have more than 28 hours/week from all jobs.
  • GRA/GTA/DA position always takes precedence: The second job will be considered an additional position and all time commitments related to the second position must defer to the primary GTA/GRA/DA position.
  • Supervisor acknowledges receipt and understanding of department’s policy: Final approval requires that the student provide the second job supervisor with a copy of the department’s second job policy, and the supervisor must email acknowledgement to the department’s director of graduate studies confirming that they have read and understand the policy.
  • Parameters of permission: All second positions will have specific parameters for hours/week and time period (i.e., from start date to end date). Graduate students must abide by these parameters. Please note that second jobs can only be held in the period starting Aug. 10 and ending May 9 during the academic year. For DAs and 12-month GTA/GRA positions, second jobs will be bound between May 10 and Aug. 9. Positions may be shorter than these time periods but not longer.
  • Certification of effort: If the second position is a grant-funded position, you may be required to certify your effort via the VCU effort certification process. Please confer with the service center for details. Failure to comply with ANY of these conditions will result in one or more of the following consequences:
    • Immediate termination of the second job if the position is at VCU
    • Termination of the GTA/GRA/DA contract, including possible forfeiture of tuition remission benefits
  • Questions/concerns: There is a support mechanism in place for students who encounter problems with their second job, such as being asked to work more hours than the maximum number allowed. Students should reach out to the HR coordinator to help problem-solve, and are encouraged to also talk with their faculty mentor, the program director and/or the director of graduate studies.