Rejecting TAship

[history110]

Hi all. This is probably an unusual question. So 2 schools have offered me TAships (when applying, I did check the box saying I wanted to apply for them since I needed aid). Both of these schools offered fellowships is well. The offers are pretty similar - one of the for example is a 6k Fellowship, and 12k TAship, plus an international tuition award of 3k. The tuition is 8k, so the Fellowship + tuition award covers it. The degree is a History MA and I do not have any intentions to pursue a PhD. These are Canadian schools.

Here's the thing I did not realize initially. My work has offered to let me work remotely. It's a really lovely job, an extremely lucky one to get since it's my field, I'm genuinely dedicated to the mission, and most of my work could easily be done remote. Also, it pays more than either of the TAships offered - I'd much rather keep working remotely at a job I like and keep in touch with the non-academia history world. I am planning on getting an MA because I know having just a BA will close some history jobs to me in the future, and while it's thesis based MA (not for example public history) I think of it as a way to grow research skills, professional connections, and skills in doing research for exhibits, and other consulting opportunities. I don't really want to TA or teach, so ideally, I'd love to work remotely and reject the TAship. Is this going to seem completely weird to the Department Head? The fellowships do not seem to be tied to the TAship, but of course they may be and I'll ask that as well. That would obviously make it more complicated. It seems like me rejecting the TAship could potentially let another student attend, since they could get that TA funding, which could be good for the department.

Thoughts?

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by starshiphistory

[HootyHoo]

Different schools have different policies, but I think pretty much all of the ones I applied to have a clause in their grad student handbook prohibiting holding a job outside of the university. Those were American schools, so Canadian schools may not care. I would say to check the handbooks first to see what school policies on the matter look like. If there's nothing explicitly prohibiting an external job, then ask the department if they'd permit it (mentioning that you don't want to go for a PhD and you don't otherwise need teaching experience). Good luck!