PhD Student Teaching

Course and Teaching Assistants

Graduate students serving as course or teaching assistants are expected to aid faculty members in courses in which the undergraduate enrollment is too large for faculty to effectively perform all aspects of instruction. Course and teaching assistants may be expected to attend class, read all assigned materials, hold office hours with students, lead a discussion regularly, review and comment on student assignments, and recommend grades. Requirements, training, and application procedures vary by department. Please check with your department for more information.

Language Assistants

Language Assistants (formerly Drill Instructors and Lectors) are considered to be in the first steps of their pedagogical training and they are supervised by language coordinators. Each language assistant is responsible for up to 12 total students and works a maximum of 10 hours per week for an 11-week quarter. This may include:

Up to 10 hours per week in group drills and/or private conversation drills.
Up to 4 hours per week in homework checking, assisting the lecturer in class.
Language assistants may check and grade homework assignments, but may not check and grade examinations.
In cooperation with the class lecturer, language assistants may help with class prep (photocopying, etc.) class AV, cultural programming, and field trips, though it is very highly recommended that the majority of the Language Assistant’s time be spent with students.

Studio Assistants

Studio assistants are similar to course assistants in other departments but have more limited duties. For example, they do not assist with grading. Studio assistants are primarily responsible for preparing class supplies including working materials and readings, setting up AV equipment, and researching exhibitions for field trips.

Lecturers

Lecturers teach stand alone courses, including elementary language courses, generally in the College. They are often in charge of every aspect of the teaching experience, including proposing the course, designing the syllabus, devising appropriate evaluation and testing methods, guiding discussion, meeting with students regularly, and recording and reporting grades. Having served one or more quarters as a course assistant for a particular civilization or core sequence may be a prerequisite to being appointed to lecturer in that sequence.

Preceptors

Some departments hire advanced graduate students as preceptors to help students in the College who are in the process of developing, researching, and writing their B.A. thesis. Preceptors generally work with a group of undergraduate concentrators during a nine-month period - three quarters. The first set of duties of a preceptor may be helping students decide on a topic, working with students to develop a reasonable research strategy, and reviewing early outlines of the proposed thesis. Some preceptors also hold seminar sessions and workshops on topics such as methodology, research design, and writing. As graduating seniors progress in their research, preceptors are expected to read and comment on numerous drafts of the thesis. Please check with your department for further information on how to apply.

Preceptors in MAPH

The Master of Arts Program in the Humanities hires preceptors for ten month appointments (September 1 through June 15). Applicants should be advanced graduate students, preferably those already admitted to PhD candidacy, from any discipline in the Division of Humanities. MAPH looks for applicants who have the accomplishment, energy, and flexibility to work well with first-year graduate students in MAPH's active multidisciplinary community. Together with the MAPH faculty and staff, each preceptor guides a group of twelve to fourteen students throughout the academic year. Responsibilities include academic advising and program approval, weekly discussion groups and grading in connection with the required MAPH colloquium and core course in autumn quarter, and thesis writing workshops during the winter and spring quarters. Preceptors who teach a winter quarter course through MAPH receive an additional salary at the University's standard lecturer rate. Calls for applications go out at the beginning of April, when application materials are available electronically from the MAPH office. Applications are generally due in mid to late April.

Center for Gender Studies

Graduate students can apply to coteach in the Gender Studies Core, serve as BA preceptors, or propose a course of their own design through the Center for Gender Studies.

Writing Program

Courses in the Writing Program are geared to writers in many different fields, and the program employs University of Chicago graduate students from all fields: humanities, social sciences, and the sciences. The program's Web site describes training requirements, applications procedures, and the available positions: Library and Dormitory Writing Tutors, Interns in the Humanities Common Core, and Lectors in Advanced Academic and Professional Writing (affectionately called the Little Red School House).

Humanities graduate students may receive compensation for teacher training conducted by the Writing Program. Training consists of twenty to thirty hours of class preparation and thirty hours of classroom work. Please note, this training does not count toward divisional fellowships that have a teaching service obligation. Students should consult with their director of graduate studies regarding the best year of study for taking advantage of training and further possibilities for teaching writing for which this training is a preparation. There are two different versions of the program depending on teaching appointment:

Academic and Professional Writing lectors train in autumn quarter in "Principles of Teaching Writing" (English 50300)
College Core tutors, Humanities Core writing interns, art writing interns, and departmental course assistants train in the spring or summer quarter in "Pedagogies of Writing" (HUMA 50000). Enrollment in the spring and summer is limited; please contact the Writing Program to determine whether a place will be available in the quarter of choice.

To qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

YEAR IN PROGRAM. Humanities graduate students who will be in their second through fourth year of graduate study in 2008-9 receive $1,000 after satisfactorily complete the training. Humanities graduate students who will be in their fifth year of graduate study and beyond may train, but are not eligible for compensation.
DEFINITE TEACHING APPOINTMENT. Apply for and receive an appointment as an Art Writing Intern (through Art History); Course Assistant (through departments); or a Humanities Core Writing Intern, College Core Tutor, or Lector (all through the Writing Program). Despite differing appointment processes, training is provided through the Writing Program for all positions.
REGISTER. Contact the Writing Program at writing-program@uchicago.edu. In the e-mail, include your name, your course assignment, and preferred training quarter (Note: lectors for Academic and Professional Writing must receive training in autumn quarter). If you are notified of an appointment late in the academic year, contact the Writing Program about summer quarter training.

Remuneration

Memo to Students, Faculty, and Staff Announcing Increase in Remuneration for Graduate Student Teachers

Interim Report from the Provost's Committee on Graduate Student Teaching

Teaching Tuition Aid for Students in Advanced Residence
In addition to the teaching salary, doctoral students in Advanced Residence who are not otherwise receiving tuition aid generally receive full tuition aid in the quarter in which they teach an approved course in the College, the Divisions of the Humanities or Social Sciences, and the Divinity School. Courses taught through the Graham or the Laboratory schools, other institutions, or while in exchange status do not qualify for tuition aid.