Graduate Instructorships
The opportunity to teach an independent section of a lecture or lab course is vital for the development of graduate students as well as for their careers. Graduate Instructors (GIs) usually teach sections of undergraduate classes. They are recommended by the director of their graduate program and appointed by the dean or dean’s representative of the course program. GIs must hold at least 18 earned credit hours of graduate work in the discipline of the course. Doctoral students who have completed a master’s degree may teach master’s-level courses, depending on the discipline and determined by the head of the graduate program. Maximum teaching assignment for a GI is one writing-intensive course; two lecture courses; or three labs each semester. These assignments carry a workload of no more than 20 hours per week.
Graduate Instructors are instructors of record for lecture courses or supervisors of complete lab courses and are responsible for all course preparation and research and for supervising Teaching Assistants assigned to their courses/labs. GIs hold ultimate responsibility for grading, equipment care, ordering textbooks and holding office hours. GIs are not adjunct faculty.
Merited Tuition
Some awards of tuition only (no stipends) are made without the expectation or requirement of duties performed by the awardee. These are usually one- or two-semester awards of less than 6 tuition hours each semester.
Research Assistantships
Demonstrating the Student-Scholar Model by offering students the opportunity to participate in faculty-led research projects allows Research Assistants (RAs) to experience the various stages of completing a focused research project. RAs provide research support to designated faculty members through experiment design; data collection; proofreading or copyediting written materials; managing correspondence related to the research project; and/or scheduling, organizing or completing library, online or field research. These appointments may, or not, be grant supported and RAs are not exempt from teaching training obligations that comprise a core component of their program of study.
Though they may have the opportunity to participate in courses related to faculty research projects, RAs are not considered primarily teaching support; their duties are primarily research functions.
Teaching Assistantships
Teaching Assistants (TAs) perform work relating to the Teacher-Scholar Model, blending experiences of teaching and scholarship as they assist a faculty member or GI. TAs support core teaching duties within each graduate program such as by monitoring undergraduate laboratories and supporting large lecture sections through attending class, taking attendance, calculating averages, grading exams, monitoring online discussions and providing occasional lectures. TAs may also assist a professor through data collection; proofreading or copyediting written materials; managing correspondence; and/or library, online or field research. These assignments carry a workload of no more than 20 hours per week.
TA duties are primarily related to teaching. TAs are not, however, instructors of record or adjunct faculty and do not carry full responsibility for the courses they assist.