Each academic year, several doctoral students in Curriculum and Instruction are offered appointments as teaching associates, with assignments in the Department of Professional Studies in Education. These appointments, awarded on the basis of academic merit, are for one academic year. Applicants considered for these positions must be outstanding doctoral candidates with a record of outstanding work as graduate assistants. They must be interviewed and make a professional presentation to the Professional Studies in Education faculty.
Teaching associates serve as half-time faculty members in the Professional Studies in Education Department and carry out those faculty duties assigned by the department chair, including teaching, supervising student teachers, and so forth. Every teaching associate, or TA, is assigned to a faculty mentor and must complete a performance review each semester. Teaching associates are eligible for reappointment for an additional year upon the recommendation of the Department of Professional Studies in Education. No doctoral candidate may be a TA for more than two years.
Appointees who teach six credits in both the Fall the Spring semesters earn a salary equal to one-half that of a beginning (Step A) instructor and a tuition waiver (six credits) during the summer sessions following the year of appointment.
