Appointments may be made for either of the regular Academic terms (Sept. 1 to Jan. 15 or Jan. 16 to May 31). Teaching Assistants/Fellows must be regularly enrolled students pursuing advanced degrees, and all appointments are contingent on being a graduate student in good standing during the period of appointment. All appointees, whether U.S. citizens or not, will need to present evidence of employability meeting current Immigration Service requirements. Teaching Assistant/Fellows may also be asked by the Student Financial Aid Office to provide information about financial need, in an attempt to secure College Work Study Program funds for the Institute. Renewal of appointments in succeeding terms will be based on past performance, the needs of the Department, and the value of the appointment in the student’s own academic program.
Full-time Teaching Assistants/Fellows carry a stipend and health insurance, and are accompanied by full tuition awards. Any other required fees are to be paid by the Assistant/Fellow. Required texts for subjects to which an Assistant/Fellow is assigned are normally provided by the department. It is occasionally possible to arrange part-time Teaching Assistantships/Fellowships, when suitable teaching assignments are available.
For Teaching Fellows only, academic credit for teaching should be obtained by registering for 6.9900[6.981] Teaching Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. A full-time Teaching Fellow should register for 20 units under this number, while a half-time Fellow should register for 10 units. 10 units will suffice to satisfy the teaching requirement of the doctoral program.
Teaching Assistants are not eligible to register for teaching credit under 6.9900[6.981].
Full-time Teaching Assistants/Fellows may register for 27 additional units of classroom and laboratory subjects and thesis, a limit that is strictly enforced. Teaching Assistants/Fellows must not be registered for the subject which they are assigned to teach.
Full-time Teaching Assistant/Fellows are expected to devote teaching effort commensurate with a 20 hours a week averaged over the entire appointment period. Duties may include: student contact in laboratories, problem sessions, tutorials, and individual consultation; grading homework and examinations; attending lectures, recitations, and staff meetings; preparing home problems and laboratory experiments; and individual study of course material. Experienced Assistants/Fellows may instruct recitation sections when appropriate assignments are available. Assistants/Fellows must be available for duties in the subject to which they are assigned on the start date of their appointment, and must contact their supervisors by that date. They are also expected to be available for proctoring examinations and grading after the end of scheduled classes.
A Teaching Assistant/Fellow usually finds that teaching duties and studies leave no time for other employment. If, for some compelling reason, it is necessary to consider an additional obligation, explicit permission must be obtained in advance from the Department Graduate Office and Department’s Education Officers.