Graduate Teaching Assistantships
Department of Physics
University of Maryland
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Graduate Teaching Assistantships Department of Physics University of Maryland |
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First priority is given to new students and to second-year students who were promised support and are making satisfactory academic progress. The Department will also try to provide TAs to students with satisfactory teaching records for one or two semesters after passing the Qualifying Examination while they are actively seeking a research assistantship. It is occasionally possible to support a thesis student making satisfactory research progress with a TA, but those assistantships are limited in number and are renewed only if jobs are available.
The number of teaching positions available in the summer sessions is quite limited and first priority is given to first-year students offered summer support upon admission. More advanced students are encourage to seek research funding for the summer.
A full TA will be assigned teaching, grading, and other duties that typically require approximately 20 hours per week while the duties for a half TA should be approximately 10 hours per week on average. Inexperienced TAs may initially require slightly more time to complete their duties, but should consult their professor if their time requirements continue to seem excessive after a few weeks.
Applications are required for each semester even if a student has been promised support for one or more years. The application form is available on the web and should be submitted electronically.
Evaluation of spoken English by the Maryland English Institute (MEI) is required for any TA whose native language is not English. No student may teach discussion or laboratory sections without passing this evaluation. If the MEI evaluation results in a course recommendation, usually UMEI006 or UMEI008, you will be given a grading assignment. We strongly urge students to practice English vigorously and to pass the MEI evaluation by the end of their first semester. Students who do not pass the MEI evaluation by the end of their first year will not receive a TA the following year unless there is a shortage of qualified teaching assistants and a grading job is available. Learn English -- do not forfeit your assistantship!
Occasionally, if there is a shortage of teaching assistants in the physics department, we might need to hire a few TAs from other departments. Priority is then given to students who have already passed the MEI evaluation and who have teaching experience or academic backgrounds most suitable for our introductory courses. The same application schedule applies, but offers may not be made until a few days before the start of classes when the need for additional personnel becomes firmly established. Be sure that your time-conflict schedule is submitted on time. You may submit supplemental information, such as resumes or transcripts, to the white box in room 1120, but more than one visit to members of the assignment committee may reduce the chances of receiving a TA offer.
In addition to satisfactory performance of teaching duties, as measured by student and faculty evaluations, teaching assistants are expected to show satisfactory academic progress appropriate to their level of study. During the first year or two of graduate study this is normally measured by course grades and the student is expected to register for at least six credits of work leading to his or her degree under the Regular (A through F) grading option. An international student must also pass the MEI evaluation by the end of the first year. A more advanced student may demonstrate satisfactory progress by passing the Qualifying Examination or by beginning dissertation research. However, TA renewal after the second year depends upon the availability of jobs and is not guaranteed even to those making satisfactory academic progress. Nevertheless, an adequate number of positions has been available to advanced students in recent years.
Your acceptance of a TA offer is a contract with the Physics Department. If you are offered an RA or wish to be released from this contract for any other reason, a request for release must be submitted before the deadline. Such requests will be considered in the order received, but will be granted only if a suitable replacement is available. If you anticipate an RA offer, please secure a commitment from your research advisor soon enough to meet the deadline.
First-year TAs are expected to teach both Fall and Spring semesters, but still must submit an application in order to update their contact information and course schedules. Releases will only be granted if suitable replacements are available.
Teaching assignments attempt to optimize the match between your course schedules and teaching abilities and the course schedules and requirements of the teaching program. Therefore, we require you to submit your course schedule and time conflicts before the deadline. We will correct any scheduling error that we make, but cannot be responsible for time conflicts that we do not know about. Remember to submit your time conflict data on time!
Guidelines for scheduling of graduate courses have been posted, but please be aware that the actual schedule for a particular semester may be different for many reasons. These recommendations were formulated to optimize the match between the schedules for typical teaching assistants and the needs for staffing undergraduate courses.