What is an RA?
Resident Assistant (RA) is an academic-year student employee within Housing and Residence Life (HRL) that helps create and support a community of students within the residence halls at George Mason University. RAs dedicate their time and energy to the residential community by ensuring that students have a healthy, safe, and supportive environment in which to learn and develop. RAs are expected to be visible in their communities and serve as an available resource to residents. Resident Assistants will engage with residential students through peer-to-peer communication and support, implementation of residential curriculum initiatives, staffing community desks, completing community walk-throughs, and other departmental, divisional, and university initiatives. All RAs are supervised by a Community Director and/or Graduate Community Director.
What is an RLC RA?
A Residential Learning Community Resident Assistants (RLC RA) is an academic-year student employee within the Housing and Residence Life (HRL). RLC RAs serve a special population of students who live in an RLC and collaborate with the RLC partner on developing of the RLC. RLC RAs dedicate their time and energy to the residents of their community, ensuring that students have a healthy, safe, and supportive environment in which to learn and develop. Please see the position descriptions below for more information about the RLC RA role.
Join The Team!
If you're a motivated leader with skills like dependability, initiative, integrity, and discretion. If you're also a natural organizer and communicator, all the better. Working for us offers, competitive pay, locations across campus, hours to fit busy schedules, convenience, and leadership opportunities. Due to the competitive nature of our processes, we cannot guarantee interviews for all applicants. The RA and RLC RA applications open on October 21st, 2024, and close on December 1st, 2024. Continue to check this site and follow us @masonhousing for updates!
Working at George Mason University makes it easy to balance your classes with work. That’s why on-campus jobs at Mason are great—we want you to focus on being a student first. Housing and Residence Life employs more than 200 students annually in graduate assistantships and part-time positions. You'll be a great fit if you're a motivated leader with such skills as dependability, initiative, integrity, and discretion. If you're also a natural organizer and communicator, all the better.
Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year will open on October 2024
Priority consideration for mid-year student staff applications will open on November 2024
***All applicants must attend an information session. Information can be found on Mason360***
Housing Tour Amabassador
A Housing Tour Ambassador (HTA) is a student representative responsible for leading tours of George Mason University’s on-campus housing for prospective students, families, and other visitors. HTAs are the face of the Housing and Residence Life (HRL) department for incoming students, and they play a crucial role in showcasing the benefits of living on campus. They are well-versed in the university’s housing options, policies, amenities, and the overall GMU experience. Through their tours, HTAs help prospective students picture themselves as part of the campus community, making them an essential part of GMU’s outreach efforts.
Office Assistant
An Office Assistant (OA) in Housing and Residence Life (HRL) is a student employee who staffs our two 24/7 Housing Desks. During business hours, they assist students, families, and guests with questions in person and over the phone. In addition to providing excellent customer service, OAs manage various administrative tasks, maintain accurate logs, and assist students with lockouts and other residence hall issues. After hours, OAs connect students with emergency resources and on-call staff as needed. With the HRL Housing Desks operating 24/7, OAs have the flexibility to work during weekends and overnight shifts. Their professionalism and commitment make them a crucial part of the HRL team.
FAQs
How do I Apply to work as a Student Staff?
All applicants must follow the steps below to be considered for a student staff position.
- Read through the position descriptions for the 2 opportunities (RA and RLC RA) and decide on 1 or 2 roles you are most interested in. If you have specific questions about these positions, please reach out to ResStaff@gmu.edu
- Information sessions will be available once the application launches, either virtually or in-person as space allows. Please check back on Mason360 for more information
- Please visit Handshake for more information and fill out the application in your StarRez Housing Portal. The application should only take a few minutes to fill out. You are able to preference up to 2 positions
- Once you’ve successfully completed the application you will receive information regarding the required Interview Workshop, and how to register/complete this requirement
- Candidates advancing to the interview round will receive more information on meeting with professional staff members to answer questions relating to the position they are most qualified for early in the Spring 2025 semester
- We will do our best to update candidates by late February 2025 if they were hired, given a spot on our alternate list, or were not selected this year. Due to the size of our applicant pool, we may not respond to all applications. Please note that the housing application for next year will close in early February, so any candidate looking to live on campus should still complete an application and follow all of their processes.
If you have any questions about this process, the roles, please reach out to ResStaff@gmu.edu
What Qualifications Do I Need to Be Eligible to Work as a Student Staff?
To hold a Student Staff position, a student must fulfill the following criteria:
- Must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student. Students enrolled in more than 18 credits per semester must seek prior approval from their immediate supervisor
- At a minimum, students are required to maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA and a 2.5 semester GPA throughout employment
- Must have reached sophomore standing by the start of employment or completed two (2) academic semesters at Mason
- Must successfully complete a background check before beginning their position
- All Housing and Residence Life student staff are required to uphold and execute all Housing and Residence Life policies
To hold a Student Staff position, a student must fulfill the following co-curricular criteria:
- Ability to commit to the position for a full academic year
- Must remain in good standing with the University and with Housing and Residence Life
Failure to meet any of these requirements may result in termination or rescinding of employment.
Where do I Attend Information Sessions ?
All applicants must attend an information session. Information can be found on Mason360.
How do I apply to be an RA?
- The 2025-2026 RA application will be available on the Housing Portal. The RA application on October 21, 2024 and closes December 1, 2024 at 11:59PM EST.
- All applicants must attend an RA Information Session. RA Information Session dates, times, and locations can be found on Mason 360 under Housing and Residence Life.
- Candidates interested in being considered for a limited number of positions starting positions starting in Spring 2025 should apply by November 8, 2024.
When are the required RA information sessions?
RA Information sessions will take place on the following dates:
- October 22, 2024
- October 31, 2024
- November 8, 2024
- November 13, 2024
- November 25, 2024
Additional details, including times and locations can be found on HRL’s Mason 360 events closer to application opening on October 21st.
You do not need to submit your application before attending an information session. We encourage you to attend an information session prior to completing your application as you will not be able to modify your application once submitted.
I applied! What happens next?
If you have not yet, you must attend a required Information Session. Check Housing and Residence Life’s events on Mason 360 for more information.
The Recruitment and Selection Committee will reach out via email to all applicants throughout the process with more information about their status in the process and any next steps.
Due to a high volume of emails during the recruitment cycle, we may not be able to respond to individual emails requesting status updates or confirmation of receipt of applications. All candidates will receive communication and updates from the committee as information become available. Please monitor your email regularly for emails from resstaff@gmu.edu.
I applied on Handshake but my application was rejected. Why did this happen?
RA positions are posted on Handshake for visibility amongst the university community, however, we do not accept application materials on Handshake. Candidates must complete the application on the Housing Portal. All Handshake applications will be rejected.