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Teaching Assistant Information by Department

Undergraduate Students

Primary contact: Emily Half

Courses that typically hire TAs: 84-104, 84-226, 84-275, 84-322, 84-323, 84-352, 84-369, 84-387, 84-405 (any course that has enrollment higher than 35 typically).

How to apply: TA positions are coordinated by the department.

Primary contact: Nuria Ballesteros Soria

Courses that typically hire TAs: varies by semester

How to apply: varies by course

Primary contact: Rita Portnykh

Courses that typically hire TAs: The core introductory economics courses (73102, 73103, 73230 and 73240) always hire TAs. Other courses might hire TAs, depending on enrollment. 

How to apply: A new application is posted every semester.

Primary contact: Cassie Conrad

Courses that typically hire TAs: Course assistants are needed for courses such as 67.240 (Mobile Web Design & Development), 67.250 (Information Systems Milieux), 67.262 (Database Design and Development), 67.272 (Application Design and Development), and 67.443 (Mobile Application Design and Development).

How to apply: Course assistants and graders are hired by the instructor and typically have previously taken the course. Students are encouraged to contact the instructor or department for more information about these opportunities

Primary contacts: Nancy Monda and Gang Liu   

Opportunities available: language assistants (speaking/writing assistants) and grader positions

Courses that typically hire: Most language sections, except Italian, hire language assistants every semester. Language Assistants are not required to attend lectures, teach recitions or grade assignments. Their main responsibilities are to help students practice language (mostly speaking and writing related to course content) outside the classroom, thus they are hired as "tutors" ($10/hour). Language assistants are limited to undergrad only. Some larger classes may hire graders.

How to apply: Application forms open each semester. Interested students should contact the professor or the contact persons listed above to apply.

Primary contact: Pat Doyle

Courses that typically hire TAs: Any class that has recitations will receive one TA for every 30 or 40 students. Any non-recitation courses will receive a grader for every 20-30 students.

How to apply: TAs or graders are typically hired by the instructor. Students are encouraged to contact the instructor or department for more information about these opportunities.

Complete the application

Primary contact: Emilie O'Leary

Courses that typically hire TAs: Most courses in the department hire TAs and the department also hires graders for some classes. Examples include: 85-102 Intro to Psychology; 85-241 Social Psychology; 85-219 Biological Foundations of Behavior; 85-221 Principles of Child Development; 85-309 Advanced Stats; and 85-310/85-320/85-340 Research Methods.

More information available on the Psychology website.

How to apply: Application is available online.

Primary contact: Gretchen Chapman

Courses that typically hire TAs: all undergrad courses with an enrollment of 25 or more students.

How to apply: Hourly undergraduate students are hired for one course in any given semester. The instructor for that particular class hires their TAs, typically by considering students who have taken the class previously.

Primary contact: Samantha Nielsen

Courses that typically hire TAs: Our department offers a wide array of experiences for our TAs. For our TAs (undergraduate and graduate), depending on the course, they will be grading, and could also lead recitations, hold office hours, help with the logistical organization of the course, among other things.

The Stat & DS Department hires undergraduate TAs for most, if not all, of our undergraduate courses at the 100, 200, and 300 levels. There are not always undergraduate students TAing for our 400 level courses, but there have been undergrads on a select few of those courses in recent semesters (e.g. 36-401, 36-402, 36-410 and 36-462). What courses are in need of TAs can change semester to semester, and the best place to find an updated list of courses is on the departmental TA application on our website, which is opened each semester a week or so before registration.

How to apply: Applications for the undergraduate TAs will open each semester at least the week before registration. Please check here to see the timeline surrounding our applications.

Graduate Students

Note: PhD students who are seeking TA-ships for their funding to should contact their advisor.

Primary contact: Emily Half

Courses that typically hire TAs: 84-104, 84-226, 84-275, 84-322, 84-323, 84-352, 84-369, 84-387, 84-405 (any course that has enrollment higher than 35 typically).

How to apply: TA positions are coordinated by the department.

Primary contact: Rita Portnykh

Courses that typically hire TAs: The core introductory Economics courses (73102, 73103, 73230 and 73240) always hire TAs. Other courses might hire TAs, depending on enrollment. Graduate students with experience are welcome to apply.

How to apply: A new application is posted every semester.

Primary contact: Jen Loughran

Courses that typically hire TAs: TA opportunities within English are typically for PhDs whose research area aligns with the course/faculty. 

How to apply: A Grad Opportunities Board is compiled every semester. Contact Jen for more information.

Primary contact: Chris Phillips

Courses that typically hire TAs: Typically, larger and more introductory courses will hire teaching assistants, like Roots of Rock and Roll or Introduction to the History of Science

How to apply: There is no formal application process. Students are assigned based on interest and department need. History graduate students can contact their primary advisor for more information.

Primary contact: Cassie Conrad

Courses that typically hire TAs: Graduate course assistants are hired for course 67373 (Information Systems Consulting Project)

How to apply: Graduate course assistants should reach out to the department for more information.

Primary contact: Pat Doyle

Courses that typically hire TAs: Any class that has recitations will receive one TA for every 30 or 40 students. Any non-recitation courses will receive a grader for every 20-30 students.

How to apply: TA positions are not open for students outside of the Philosophy graduate programs. TA placements are handled by the department and are based on the student’s background and interests.

Primary contact: Erin Donahoe

More information: TA positions are not open for students outside of the Psychology graduate programs. The graduate TA committee handles TA assignments.

Primary contact: Gretchen Chapman

Courses that typically hire TAs: all undergrad courses with an enrollment of 25 or more students.

How to apply: SDS PhD students are assigned TA positions as part of their compensation program.  Hourly masters students are hired for one course in any given semester and are often recruited from those who previously completed the course.

Primary contact: Samantha Nielsen

Courses that typically hire TAs: Our department offers a wide array of experiences for our TAs. For our TAs (undergraduate and graduate), depending on the course, they will be grading, and could also lead recitations, hold office hours, help with the logistical organization of the course, among other things.

External Graduate TAs: While the majority of the upper level and graduate level stat classes are staffed with Stat & DS PhD students, the department does on occasion need additional support. For graduate students outside of this department to show interest in TAing for one of our classes, they will need to fill out the Graduate TA Interest form on our website. This will be opened each semester a week or so before registration. What classes are available for external graduate TAs changes each semester, but in the past there have been external TAs on 36-219, 36-612, and for the MSCF program 46-927. That list will change.

How to apply: Graduate students in the department will have the opportunity to be TAs. There may be additional opportunities for graduate students from other departments, if the need exists. More information is available in the handbook.

Applications for the external graduate TAs will open each semester at least the week before registration. Please check here to see the timeline surrounding our applications.

Opportunities Outside of Dietrich

Courses that typically hire TAs: 15-104, 15-110 and 15-112. Higher level courses may also hire non-SCS TAs.

How to apply: www.ugrad.cs.cmu.edu/ta/ 

When to apply: Most courses interview TAs for fall courses in April and interview TAs for spring courses in November and December.

Who to contact: Email the upcoming instructor or current head TAs to learn more about a specific course's application process.

How to apply: Each department in MCS handles their own process for hiring TAs. Generally, any Dietrich student that has taken an MCS course and did well (B or better) would be eligible to TA the class in the future.

Who to contact: