Spring, 2008

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS AND GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT

Introduction

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide some information about graduate student support in general and teaching assistantships in particular. It is important for students to give careful thought to their support plans for the coming year, It is only by planning ahead that we can hope to arrange appropriate support for each student.

Types of Support

There are three major forms of support available to graduate students: research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Fellowships often provide the most freedom, since they normally do not restrict a student to a given area of research or impose registration limitations. However, fellowship students often have difficulty making contact with research groups. Research assistants are in a good position to make rapid thesis progress, but those whose support is limited to research assistantships or fellowships may find it difficult to develop communication skills that will be useful in their later careers. Teaching assistants have an opportunity to develop their learning and communications skills, but cannot normally progress as rapidly in their research as other students.

For most students, a mixture of support types turns out to be desirable. This can be accomplished in many ways. Some students start out as TAs for the first few terms and switch to being RAs when they become heavily involved with thesis work. Some start as RAs and switch to being TAs during the period between their master's and doctor's theses. Similarly, fellowship students often make use of research or teaching assistantships when their fellowships expire or earlier in cases where fellowship support can be deferred. All three types of support provide valuable opportunities and the Department recommends that, wherever possible, students get both teaching and research experience. In particular, students in the doctoral program are required to participate in the Department's educational program by serving as Teaching Assistants at some point in their academic program.

Planning

In the face of uncertain research funding, graduate student support may be harder to get. The business of finding support is complicated by the fact that research contracts sometimes do not come through until late in the summer. As a result, research assistantships sometimes do not materialize until near the beginning of the term. And since some of these assistantships are taken by students who were previously awarded teaching assistantships, some teaching assistant opportunities are also created at the last minute. Thus the process of matching students with support possibilities can be a trying one, and a certain amount of patience is needed.

Prior planning also helps. The more student support situations we can settle early, the easier it will be to deal with the difficult situations and the better will be our chances of finding support for everyone. Each graduate student is responsible for securing his or her own support. It is now time to begin thinking seriously about support for next term. The first step is to see your graduate counselor in order to assess the status of your academic program and determine which form of support would be most appropriate for you. Others who may be able to help in this process are your research supervisor (if you have one), your graduate Area Chairman, and faculty for whom you may have recently worked as a TA. These people can also help line up the desired support, but it is up to you to take the initiative.

All students who are interested in teaching assistantships for next term, including those who are currently TAs, should fill out an application form.* Now available to fill out online, but print out and return as directed. Students currently pursuing the MEng degree should submit their applications to the Undergraduate Office, Room 38-476 (see below) ; all others (SM, EE, ECS, PhD, ScD) should submit their applications to the Graduate Office, Room 38-444, no later than MARCH 31 for the fall term and no later than OCTOBER 31 for spring term.

Students who are interested in research assistantships should consult faculty members in the appropriate research areas. Although faculty are usually busy and sometimes hard to get to see, all faculty members expect to have students come in to talk about possible research topics and research support. If you're not sure to whom you should be talking, consult your counselor or the Department brochure "Research Interests of Faculty Members Who Supervise Graduate Theses" which is available from the Graduate Office.

Fellowship students, or those receiving awards comparable to fellowships, are not eligible for regular, full-time research assistant or teaching assistant appointments. However, such students may, in appropriate circumstances, receive partial compensation for participating in the Department's teaching or research programs. Details of the Department's policy on supplementation of fellowship awards is described on the Departmental website (http://www.eecs.mit.edu). Please note that Department fellowships are not normally awarded to continuing graduate students. First-year graduate students holding Department fellowships should not expect those fellowships to be renewed.

If, after reasonable efforts on your part, you are unable to arrange support for next year, I suggest you get in touch with your Area Chairman.

MEng and VI-A Students looking for TAs

As you probably know, students who have unrestricted graduate admission, together with VI-A students returning from their graduate plant assignments, have higher priority for Teaching Assistant appointments than other graduate students. This fact sometimes limits TA opportunities for non-VI-A students with MEng-only admission.

However, if you are in this category, have a strong academic record, and wish to be considered for a Teaching Assistantship for the coming fall term, you should obtain an application form* and return it to Anne Hunter, Room 38-476, by MARCH 30 (fall term) or OCTOBER 31 (spring term) together with:

· a current transcript (grade report)
· a brief note from a faculty member who can speak to your potential as a TA

Please note: MEng students are not eligible for Assistantships after their third regular graduate term, and SM students after their fourth regular term, unless they have completed a Master’s Thesis.

Because of the priorities involved, decisions on applications from MEng students may not be made until late in the term. You may also pick up an application form from Lisa Bella, room 38-459.

*This form can now be filled out online, but must be printed and returned as directed.

Selection of Teaching Assistants

Some idea of the process by which teaching assistants will be appointed and assigned may help you in your planning. As noted on page 2, the normal deadline for application is MARCH 31 for fall term and OCTOBER 31 for spring term. Most of next term's TAs will be chosen during April and the first part of May for fall term assignments and November and December for spring term assignments. This selection will be made on the basis of past performance (in the case of current or former TAs), faculty recommendations, and departmental needs. Those to whom offers are made at this time will normally be given approximately two weeks to accept or decline. Some of the early offers may be made without a specific subject assignment, but in such cases assignments will be announced by the end of the term.

Some students may want to consult with instructors in charge of subjects to which they wish to be assigned as TAs. Such students should remember that individual faculty members are not in a position to promise appointments as TAs.

Although the schedule just described is the normal one, some students will, because of unexpected changes in their plans, find themselves applying late. Since some openings are likely to arise between May and September, late applicants will often be able to obtain appointments, and we will try to accommodate as many as possible. However, late appointments will be made primarily on the basis of staffing needs. As openings occur, the most appropriate candidates from the pool of available applicants will fill them. Since this process can continue through the summer, it is important that we have home addresses and phone numbers for all waiting applicants.

Sometimes a student finds, after having accepted a TA appointment, that another source of support better suited to his or her needs has become available. In such cases, the Department tries to act in the student's best interests. Whenever possible, students will be allowed to resign their TA appointments in order to accept other support. However, this can only be done if a suitable replacement is available. Students who accept TA appointments for the Fall Term should therefore understand that it may not be possible for the Department to release them from that commitment, especially after specific assignments have been made.

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