Graduate Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistants form an integral part of the ECE Department, responsible for the Department’s core mission of undergraduate teaching and learning. ECE hires a limited number of TAs annually to support its undergraduate programs. We may also hire TAs for graduate courses that require additional support. In most cases, we will prioritize assigning TAs to undergraduate courses before we assign TAs to graduate courses.

Summer 2024 (May – August) – Teaching Assistant applications are open until March 27, 2024.

Current members of the CUPE 2278 bargaining unit (Teaching Assistants Component): please submit applications by the above date to be reviewed for eligibility as preferred candidates.

Priority for TA appointments will be given to prior MASc or MEng TAs who have not exceeded two teaching years and to prior Ph.D. TAs who have not exceeded five teaching years.

Please note that financial need will not be considered in the appointment of TAs.

Although the precise duties will vary depending on the course for which an appointment is made, in general they will include responsibilities in one or more of the following types:

  • Laboratory Assistant – assisting in the supervision of electric power, electronics and/or computer laboratory experiments, marking of the laboratory reports.
  • Tutorial Assistant – assisting in or taking charge of tutorial sessions, marking of assignments, preparing or written solutions, reviewing of assignments with students.
  • Marking – marking of assignments and exams.
  • Invigilation – invigilation of midterms, quizzes, and finals. All TAs are expected to be available to invigilate one final exam, which may not be the exam of your assigned course; invigilation assignments will be made by the department near the end of term.

If you are assigned to a course that has a laboratory or tutorial component, you should expect to be involved in the supervision of lab or tutorial sections unless explicitly indicated otherwise by the instructor.

Requirements for holding a Graduate TA appointment include:

  • Must be a full-time, registered student in a graduate-level program at UBC during the period of the appointment. If you will be defending your thesis or completing your program before the start of a term then you are not eligible to be a TA for that term.
  • Cannot be on leave from your graduate program during the appointment.
  • Must be legally eligible to work for the duration of the appointment and must provide proof of your legal eligibility to work (such as a study permit / SIN document for international students). If you are an international student who will not receive a study permit before the start of term, please decline any offered positions as soon as possible before the term starts.
  • Must be willing to perform on-campus work for the entire period of the appointment. If you will be out of town for a significant portion of the term, please do not accept a TA position in that term.
  • Must live within British Columbia for the period of the appointment.
  • After receiving an offer, must promptly inform the department and the instructor of your intent to accept the offer.
  • Must inform your instructor and the department of any additional TA positions or conflicting responsibilities before accepting the offer.
  • Availability to complete the mandatory APSC TA training (if you have never completed it before); multiple sessions will be offered within the first few weeks of the term.
  • Must complete all Workday onboarding steps after your appointment is processed in Workday (UBC’s HR / Finance system).

Teaching Assistant applicants will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Mastery of the course academic material
  • Ability to help students actively learn
  • Ability to explain subject matter clearly and logically
  • Ability to effectively lead discussion groups that facilitate student learning
  • Ability to constructively evaluate student presentations
  • Ability to effectively assists student learning by enabling different sets of skills, including oral and verbal communications, problem-solving, critical thinking, numeracy, teamwork, leadership, and planning

For information on how to apply, please see below:

Please read the entirety of this webpage before applying. TA Applications are open until March 27, 2024, and can be completed by clicking the following link: ECE Summer TA Application 2024. Please note that one of the requirements is to submit a current CV outlining your educational and employment experience related to a TA position. Applications will be accepted after the deadline until all positions are filled but, other considerations being equal, candidates who applied by the deadline will be preferred.

New and returning candidates wishing to be considered for a TA position will need to submit a new application and CV. Once you have completed the application, please save a copy of your responses for your records.

We will normally prioritize assigning TAs to undergraduate classes before we assign TAs to graduate classes.

In some cases, the department or an instructor may reach out to you for an interview to determine your suitability for a course.

Please note that you should NOT consider Teaching Assistantships as a source for guaranteed income. The Department is not in a position to consider financial need in the process of TA appointments.

ECE hires Graduate Teaching Assistants at the following pay rates and classifications:

GTA II: graduate student with less than two (2) years’ service as a graduate student teaching assistant (~$37.53/hour).

GTA I: graduate student who has completed at least two (2) years’ service as a graduate student teaching assistant. (~$38.99/hour).

New TAs and returning TAs who have not participated in the Faculty of Applied Science (APSC) TA training program must complete the training, as it is designed to help ensure that TAs are successful in their roles. If you receive a TA position, information on this training will be provided to you (typically within the first few weeks of the term).

TAs at UBC are represented by the Canadian Union Of Public Employees Local 2278 (CUPE2278) and a Collective Agreement between UBC and CUPE2278 is in effect. Under this agreement, previously appointed TA's must be given preference (for a certain number of teaching years) over new applicants. Once CUPE 2278 members (i.e., previously appointed TAs) have been considered for available positions, new applicants are considered for any remaining positions. All positions are offered on the basis of union preference and merit based on the criteria listed above. Please note that applicants should apply before the March 27, 2024 deadline in order to be reviewed for eligibility as preferred candidates.

Please consult the CUPE2278 Collective Agreement for more information on how TA preference is determined.

https://hr.ubc.ca/working-ubc/collective-agreements-and-terms-conditions-employment

Applicants should be aware that generally not all applicants will be offered TA positions.

Because the Winter TA application is posted before course schedules are released and registration numbers are determined, it is difficult to estimate the number of hours and TA positions that will be allocated to each course. Some of the courses listed on the TA application (especially low-registration graduate courses) may not be allocated a TA. Some of the courses listed on the application may also not be offered every year.

We typically hire approximately 200 total TAs (including both graduate (GTA) and undergraduate (UTA)) in Winter term 1 and approximately 150 total TAs in Winter term 2.

For the Summer term, we typically hire approximately 25 TAs as there are much less courses offered in Summer.

The time commitment for a TA appointment varies, but is typically 50-100 hours per term.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.