Physical Education Teaching

UWL will pay the graduate school application fee for McNair Scholars.  To receive this benefit, request an application fee waiver form from your undergraduate McNair Scholars office, or download a copy. Have the form signed by your McNair Program Director and email your completed form directly to admissions@uwlax.edu or mail it to the address below.

Then, when completing the UW System application, simply skip the application fee payment section.  Once we receive your form, your application will be updated in our system to confirm the payment requirement has been completed.

Graduate Admissions Office
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601

Graduate Assistantships (GAs) are a type of campus employment that are available only for graduate students. Most GAs are 9-month positions, scheduled for 20 or 14 hours a week.

Salaries are set at approximately $15,000 for a half-time (20-hour per week) position, $9,900 for a one-third time (~14-hour per week) position, and adjusted accordingly for shorter work assignments. In general, GA positions do not include a fee remission.

GAs working 14+ hours a week are eligible for health insurance benefits; for details, visit the UWL Employee Resources website. In addition to the GA positions offered by your program (see information below), GA positions are also available in some other campus offices. Email gradstudies@uwlax.edu for more information.

There are several GA positions offered within the Graduate Physical Education Teaching program. Please reach out to the Graduate Program Director for more information on how to apply. See the section above for more general information about GA positions at UWL.

Fitness/Health Promotion (HPR) general education course GA
Teach lab/activity sessions for HPR or other ESS 100 level courses and assist in classroom activities

Conduct health-related fitness tests 

Must demonstrate a strong health-related fitness background 

Physical Education Pedagogy Laboratory GA 
Work with physical education teacher candidates in PK-12 schools or alternative settings (e.g., homeschool), with supervision from faculty lab director

Provide feedback to preservice PE teachers in a Professional Development School model

Provide oversight of lab resources 

Must possess current physical education teaching certification/licensure 

Adapted Physical Education Emphasis GA 
Several assistantships are available specifically for graduate students admitted to the APE Emphasis 

*The GA positions stated above will also teach up to two contact hours in ESS 100 level undergraduate activity courses or HPR labs  

Elementary/Secondary Physical Education GA
Plan and implement developmental instructional program in local elementary schools 

Assist faculty with clinical supervision of undergraduate physical education teaching major 

Must possess current physical education teaching certification by GA starting date (mid-August) 

Adventure Education and Outdoor Pursuits Emphasis GA 
Teach undergraduate adventure education & outdoor pursuits activity courses (e.g., rock climbing, backpacking, canoeing, mountain biking, etc.) 

Facilitate challenge course and indoor rocking climbing experiences for community groups and First Flight programming 

Assist with First Flight, and outdoor orientational transition program for incoming freshman (mid-late August) 

Graduate students are eligible for part-time employment as student workers, the same as undergraduate students. Graduate students are encouraged to carefully consider the timing and workload of employment, to ensure their academic success.

Student Employment does not make you eligible for health insurance through the university. Student employment positions are paid hourly, and the rate of pay differs across positions. Open positions are listed online in Handshake. 

You can explore scholarship resources linked below. You must complete the FAFSA to be considered for some of these scholarships.