First-Year Graduate Appointments
Incoming graduates appointed to teach will be assigned to a Fall semester undergraduate lab or lecture subject during the summer before entering MIT. Although requests for specific classes are occasionally honored, TA appointments are predominantly determined by a student's previous experience, academic focus, and the teaching faculty's needs. Once on campus, TAs participate in a department training program before the start of the semester. This year it will be August 26-29, 2008.

Lab TAs are required to arrive on campus one week earlier than recitation TAs in order to participate in a "Lab Bootcamp", a detailed introduction to all of the experiments and procedures that undergraduates perform during the semester. Dr. Mircea Gheorghiu, Director for Undergraduate Labs, and Dr. Mariusz Twardowski, Director of the URIECA Labs, run the bootcamp and contact all lab TAs with program details once appointments are made.

Appointments for the Spring term are made in early December.

Both lab and recitation TAs participate in a pedagogical training program organized by Melinda Cerny, Assistant Director of Chemistry Education cerny@mit.edu. Through a series of lively workshops, TAs will begin to acquire skills in the areas of interactive learning, fielding difficult student questions and creating lesson plans. At the end of the workshops, TAs will have an understanding of their personal teaching style and will be equipped with the skills necessary to successfully lead a recitation or lab.

Attendance at the TA Training Program is required of all Teaching Assistants.

Undergraduate TA assignments
Undergraduates who are interested in TAing should view the guidelines for undergraduate TAs. As TAing is a time-intensive duty, students should be positive that they are capable of fulfilling all of the job requirements before applying.

Applications for the Fall term subjects now being accepted. While the applications for the Spring term subjects are posted in early November. The deadline for FALL applications is Friday, May 2. Upon submitting the completed application to Melinda Cerny in the Chemistry Education Office (2-204), interviews will be scheduled with all applicants. Spring semester appointments are usually announced before the December holiday break, and mid-July for the Fall semester appointments.