What is a Research Assistant (GRA)?
A Research Assistant is a Queen’s Graduate Student who is employed by a faculty member on a fixed-hour contract to undertake research duties or a research project. This is a job you take on in addition to your graduate studies. You might be employed by your own supervisor, or by someone else, in order to assist them with their projects or other activities. Such duties might include data collection/ entry/ analysis, interview transcription, lab maintenance, grant writing, organising conferences, etc. These activities MUST NOT BE directly related to the completion of your graduate degree. They might still be related to your interests, but these duties must not be an integral part of your own graduate thesis or project.
Example 1: You are a PhD student in Chemistry who is being paid by your supervisor to maintain lab equipment, supervise others’ research projects, and to organise a conference. This is RA work, and you should receive an RA contract for this. You may also have duties that are directly related to the completion of your own graduate research, such as data collection, which can be part of a GRF/ GRAF position. However, the non- thesis related duties should be part of an RA contract, with RA pay, and with union protection.
Example 2: You are an MA student in Art History who is being paid over the summer to organise a special exhibition. You will be curating artwork, emailing potential sponsors, and promoting the event on social media. Though the theme of the exhibition is similar to some of your own interests, the organisation of this exhibit is not part of a class project or your final thesis. These are RA duties that should be part of an RA contract, with RA pay, and with union protection.
As an RA, you are classified as an employee, shouldreceive a fixed hour contract, and be issued a T4 tax form. You will have signed a contract with your employer called a ‘Research Assistant Form’. RAs are part of Unit 1 of PSAC Local 901, and are protected by our Collective Agreement with Queen’s. This means that you are protected by all of the agreements and benefits in the Unit 1 Collective Agreement, including the guaranteed RA wage ($42.73), legal union protection for workplace issues, ability to strike, and paid sick leave.