CICS is proud of the quality of teaching in all of its classes. Not only do we have award winning teachers but we provide high-quality TA support for all of our large classes. Many students become TAs for the first time when they get to UMass Amherst and don't have a good sense of everything TAs do and how they interact with faculty, instructors, and students. We've assembled this page to provide some helpful advice as well as formal policies of the College and University. If you have any questions about anything on this page, please contact the Graduate Programs Manager or Teaching Coordinator.
The most important thing for our TAs to keep in mind is that they are working with the professor or instructor to help students get the most from their class experience. That means being aware of the needs and requirements of the professor, of your fellow TAs in the course (if any), of the students, and of yourself.
In order to pass the Teaching Assistant Requirement all PhD students must complete a semester long teaching assistantship. Half-time (10 hour) assistantships can be used to satify this requirement.
In addition, all PhD students will complete COMPSCI 879 Teaching Assistant, Tomorrow's Faculty starting in the fall 2017. Priority enrollment will be given to new students who are employed as TA's in their first semester.
If you encounter problems you should talk to Emma Anderson, Teaching Coordinator or Ramesh Sitaraman, Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Teaching, sooner rather than later.
Here are the official guidelines for when TA appointments happen. Different classes have different requirements, so you should talk with your supervising faculty/instructor about how or if your TAship requirements differ from what is described here.
You may be responsible for completing the following "typical" duties. The distribution of duties across tasks will vary for different courses. Here is one rough breakdown of duties for a low-level undergraduate class. Your supervising professor or instructor should provide details about expectations for a specific course.
Policy Note: Poor performance will result in a student being placed on a performance improvement plan for one semester. Further poor performance may impact funding eligibility.