2021-2022 Salary Scale Summary

ASE Salaries

The Teaching Assistant, Associate In_, Reader and Tutor are part of a bargaining unit and the salaries and wages are determined by the contractual agreement between the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) and the University of California as outlined in Article 29 – Wages of the BX bargaining agreement. The ASE academic salary tables are available online on the University of California website.

GSR Salaries

There are ten salary steps in the GSR title. These steps are defined in the University of California Academic Salary Scales. These tables are maintained by the University of California Office of the President. Salary levels are adjusted by UCOP at the same time and generally in the same percentage as adjustments to other academic salaries, including those of faculty. The GSR academic salary table is available on the University of California website. 

To be competitive in recruiting the very best students, graduate programs require flexibility in the salary level they may offer graduate students employed as GSRs. Therefore, graduate programs are required to file a compensation plan for approval by the Dean of Graduate Studies outlining the rationale for the plan, the step in the title code they will use for initially hiring students and the program-specific qualifications students will need to meet. Programs that do not file a compensation plan will use the “default plan”. 

Postdoctoral Scholar Salaries

The Postdoctoral Scholars are part of a bargaining unit and the salaries are determined by the contractual agreement between the University of California and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW).  Postdoctoral Scholars shall be appointed at or above the appropriate experience rate.  The postdoctoral academic salary table is available on the University of California website. 

Understanding Your Student Salary

Your student employment salary is paid to you by the UC Davis Payroll Department and the salary payments are not posted to your student account, i.e. your salary payments are not reflected on your student bill, which is visible via MyBill and SISWeb.  We highly recommend that all student employees enroll in Employee Payroll Earnings Direct Deposit. All notifications to direct deposit recipients are made via e-mail.

We strongly encourage hiring units to provide each employed graduate student with an appointment letter. For examples, see a sample GSR appointment letter or a sample TA appointment letter.

The official salary scales for student titles are maintained by the University of California-Office of the President (UCOP) and list salary levels at a monthly amount that would be paid to you if you worked "full-time".  Full-time is defined as 40 hours per week.  Workload (hours/week) is also commonly represented in Full-time Equivalent (FTE) units. An employed person working full-time (40 hours/week) has a 100% FTE appointment while a half-time employee (20 hours/week) has a 50% FTE appointment.  Therefore, the amount of your gross, monthly, salary is dependent on your position (GSR, TA, etc.), salary step (applicable to GSR's and Postdoc's only), and the % FTE of your appointment. For example, a GSR, Step III, with a 50% FTE appointment in the 2021-22 academic year will receive a gross monthly salary of $2,191.84 (half of $4,383.67). Your FTE appointment percentage should be reflected on your appointment letter.

After calculating your gross salary using the information above, your actual net salary (take home pay) is your gross salary minus the mandatory withholding tax.  The amount of withholding tax is dependent on the amount of the gross salary, your individual tax situation, and how you chose to complete your Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.

Should you have any questions about your salary, please contact the staff administrator who completed your hiring process or your faculty supervisor.