GRA Application 2024 - 2025
MIT
URL + FSILG + GRL – Combined /
Part Time /
On-site
What is a GRADUATE RESIDENT ADVISOR (GRA)?
GRAs are graduate students living and working in MIT approved housing – undergraduate residence halls and recognized fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (FSILGs) – located in Cambridge, Boston, or Brookline. The job of the GRA is to foster a supportive, safe, inclusive, and positive living environment and to build a community atmosphere. This responsibility includes encouraging personal growth, providing outlets for managing stress, and facilitating positive interpersonal relationships. GRAs are also responsible for implementing community standards and promoting mutual respect among the residents they serve. GRAs in the residence halls work on a House team led by the faculty Heads of House and including other GRAs, the Area Director (AD), and the House Manager. GRAs in the FSILGs work with the FSILG Office and with a cluster of other GRAs working within similar communities.
ALL GRAs receive a stipend and guaranteed private room in either the Resident Hall or FSILG during their appointment. Further accommodations vary: some spaces offer a full private apartment, some a private bathroom, and some offer shared bathroom and shared kitchen spaces. In addition to the compensation, GRAs either receive a 10 meal/week dining plan, 80 swipes per semester, or are subsidized by the FSILG office to participate in the house dining plan.
Who is eligible to apply for the GRA position?
Residence Hall GRA candidates must be full-time enrolled graduate students registered at MIT, or in a combined program with MIT and another institution. Applicants must be registered in a multi-year program and be at a point in their studies where they will likely be able to dedicate two or more years to the position. FSILG GRA candidates must be full-time enrolled graduate students at any accredited higher education institution in the Boston/Cambridge area. Applicants ideally are registered in a multi-year program and be at a point in their studies where they will likely be able to dedicate at least two years to the position, however applicants who can only commit to one-year are eligible for consideration.
This position is considered employment, ten hours per week. All candidates must be available to be on campus and in residence from mid-August through Commencement.
MIT International students are eligible to be a GRA if they meet both of the criteria below:
1. You are eligible to work on campus (such as a full-time student in F-1 or J-1 student visa status)
2. You are currently employed on-campus for 10 hours or less per week at a job/TA/RA role. (NOTE: Fellowships that require performance of services in return for funding are considered employment hours. International students in F-1 or J-1 status are limited to a total on-campus employment, combined of all work at MIT, to a maximum of 20 hours per week during Fall and Spring terms).
If international students have additional questions, they can always reach out to their ISO Advisor.
It is the role of the Graduate Resident Advisor (GRA) to:
- Further the mission of MIT, the Division of Student Life, and Residential and Community Life, as a live-in paraprofessional.
- Engage as members of a cluster or house team whose charge is to support and enhance the residential living and learning environment.
- Foster a safe and inclusive community among the residents by building awareness and understanding of individual identities.
- Build relationships with all residents, house team members, and other stakeholders within the MIT community
- Serve as a supportive mentor and role model through relationships that promote growth and development through their college experience.
- Provide residents with care, support, and resources when addressing urgent matters.
- Provide residents with programming, resources, and positive learning experiences so they can thrive at MIT
The responsibilities of the Graduate Resident Advisor are:
- Apply relevant protocol to student and community crises while providing care and support for impacted students, referring to campus resources as necessary.
- Support communities to develop and maintain healthy and safe cultures and traditions; identify, develop, and enforce community standards in partnership with residents; model individual and community accountability.
- Build relationships which focus on residents’ individual growth and development; model boundaries and wellness; coach and support residents through personal, academic, and social challenges.
- Build awareness and understanding of one’s own identities and the way that those identities impact the individuals one serves and the spaces one lives and works in; infuse education on the value of inclusion and accessibility into intentional programming, community and individual relationship building.
- Understand the role of the GRA in supporting individual students, and encouraging and upholding healthy, safe, and inclusive living communities; identify, understand, and build relationships with campus resources in order to make referrals; identify, understand, and build relationships with house teams or FSILG staff.
The Graduate Resident Advisor will:
- Live in the residential facility throughout their appointment
- Abide by the other terms of the Graduate Resident Advisor Agreement with MIT
- Abide by and advocate for the policies of Residential Education/Undergraduate ResidentialLife/FSILG Office (e.g., inter/national policies)
- Attend all trainings conducted by Residential & Community Life prior to and throughout the academic term
- Attend regular staff meetings at a date, time, and cadence to be determined by the House team orFSILG Office team prior to the beginning of each academic term.
- In addition to the start of each semester, finals week, and IAP Graduate Resident Advisors are expected to be accessible during the following identified high-risk time periods: Work Week, Recruitment, Halloween, Patriots Day/Marathon Monday
- Undergraduate Residential Life, and the FSILG Office reserves the right to approve/deny any overnight travel during these outlined times of the academic year. Any travel requests made for these time periods must be approved one month in advance of the communicated dates.
- Respond to correspondence from your Area Director, Head of House, Cluster Supervisor, the FSILG Office, or other representatives of MIT
- Maintain confidentiality of residents’ academic status and other protected information
- Complete necessary administrative work in a timely manner (e.g. time away request, reimbursements)
- Behave at all times in a professional manner.
GRAs may not:
- Engage in romantic or physical relationships with members of the house, organization, or the House Corporation.
- Engage in activities or behaviors that compromise the professional relationship with members of the organization or the community of the organization. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, inappropriate, illegal, or excessive consumption or distribution of alcohol and drugs, hazing or other degrading activities.
Qualifications:
- A qualified candidate must possess an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education prior to the start of their appointment and be enrolled as a full-time graduate student throughout their appointment period. GRAs in undergraduate residence halls must be enrolled at MIT as a graduate student. A candidate that attended MIT as an undergraduate will not receive an appointment to their own FSILG or a house they have lived in.
- Employment is contingent on the successful completion of a two-tiered background check, consisting of an HR background check, and an internal MIT IDHR and OSCCS check. There is a space on the application to disclose any IDHR or OSCCS history that may appear on the check.
Benefits:
- A Graduate Resident Advisor receives their own private accommodation free of charge and also receives an annual stipend.
MIT Is an Equal Opportunity Employer
- We value diversity and strongly encourage applications from individuals from all identities and backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive equitable consideration for employment based on their experience and qualifications, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, or national or ethnic origin. See MIT's full policy on nondiscrimination. Know your rights.
- MIT considers equivalent combinations of experience and education for certain jobs. All candidates who believe they possess equivalent experience and education are encouraged to apply.
- Employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check.
- MIT is committed to providing for the safety and security of all members of our community. In accordance with the Clery Act, MIT publishes an Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. You may obtain the most recent copy of this report here or request a hard copy from the MIT Police.
Employment is Contingent on a Background Check
- Employment for all finalists, and their respective any who will be living with them, is contingent on the completion of a satisfactory background check. For these positions, the background check includes both MIT’s standard criminal history check (described here) and a confirmation that the finalist has not been found responsible for policy violations by MIT’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS) or Office of Institute Discrimination and Harassment Response Office (IDHR) (or the equivalent offices at the finalist’s home institution).
The application contains approximately 30 multiple choice and short answer questions and two 250-word essays. There is no way to save partway through the application, so please ensure you have enough time to complete it before starting. You are able to look at all the questions before beginning.
