Graduate Assistants are eligible for and automatically enrolled in the Graduate Assistant health plan if the following criteria are met:

• 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 appointments (eligible for tuition waiver); AND
• Who have worked at least 53 calendar days during their Fall or Spring appointment, or 46 calendar days during their Summer appointment
• Appropriate number of enrolled credits per semester as noted in the FAQ sheet below

For further details regarding GA appointments, review Assistantships FAQs.

You may find more graduate school information here:

• Graduate School website
• Graduate Assistant Brochure

Graduate Assistants may cover the following eligible dependents on their health insurance plan.

• Spouse/Other Eligible Individual (OEI)
• Children (must be under the age of 26)
• Stepchildren (must be under the age of 26)

Access the enrollment system on the AHP website.

Eligible Dependents must be enrolled in the same period as the primary policy holder (Graduate Assistant). 

Please review plan design details for the Aetna GA Health plan and the Academic HealthPlans (AHP) administration details on the Health Plan Design and Administration page. 

Eligible Dependents must be enrolled in the same period as the primary policy holder (Graduate Assistant). 

Note: Spring III waiver and enrollment is only available if there is not a preceding Spring I/Spring II enrollment.

As a Graduate Assistant, health plan costs are fully covered for the GA. Dependent coverage is available for purchase. You may find insurance premium rates on the Health Plan Rates and Qualifying Life Events page.

Fall 2025 GA tuition waiver and insurance processing began on 07/28/2025. After this date, GAs with a fully approved hiring record and credit enrollment will be updated to have an applied tuition waiver and enrollment in the GA insurance plan.

Please note: Fall GA hiring is extremely high volume. Hiring forms will be approved by MSU HR in the order received and tuition waiver/GA health insurance will be added accordingly for the semester. If there are concerns regarding the processing timeline and securing a GA insurance record sooner, hiring departments may follow the GA Residency Exception process. 

All  international students  are automatically enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan. If an international student has obtained an assistantship, the Student Health Insurance record will update to the Graduate Assistant Health Insurance Plan in accordance with GA hiring noted above.

Graduate Assistants are automatically enrolled as a benefit of their employment. If a GA is moving to a new coverage category mid-year, please review for the appropraite situation below.

• International students moving from a Graduate Assistantship in the Fall to a Fellowship in the Spring do not need to take any action as the auto-enrollment would move the student from the GA plan in the Fall to the student plan in the spring.
• International students moving from a Graduate Assistantship in the Fall to a graduate student in the Spring do not need to take any action as the auto-enrollment would move the student from the GA plan in the Fall to the student plan in the spring.
• Domestic students moving from a Graduate Assistantship in the Fall to a Fellowship in the Spring must reach out to MSU HR to have their AHP record updated. Students with fellowship funding voluntarily enroll in the student health plan to utilize their fellowship funding.
• Domestic students moving from a Graduate Assistantship in the Fall to a graduate student in the Spring must reach out to MSU HR to have their AHP record updated. Graduate students without an assistantship can voluntarily purchase the student health insurance plan.

Graduate Assistants are automatically enrolled as a benefit of their employment. If a graduate student/fellow was appointed as a GA in the Spring following 

• International students moving from a graduate student (with or without fellowship funding) in the Fall to a Graduate Assistant in the Spring do not need to take any action as the auto-enrollment would move the student from the student plan in the Fall to the GA plan in the Spring.
• Domestic students moving from a graduate student with health insurance (with or without fellowship funding) in the Fall to a Graduate Assistant in the Spring must reach out to MSU HR to have their AHP record updated. Manual processing is required to add the Spring insurance if there is a Fall student coverage in AHP.

• Assistantship FAQ (including credit requirements and days worked to qualify for GA tuition waiver and health insurance)
• Stipend Ranges and Specific Identification Charges
• Hiring a Graduate Assistant Toolkit
• Student Information System Job Aids
• GA Residency Exception: the information in this job aid will assist staff in completing a GA Residency Exception in SIS, so graduate assistants can receive their tuition waiver and benefits while HR information is processed.