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 28 – August 31, 2012.

Lab TAs are required to arrive on campus Monday, August 20, 2012 in order to participate in a "Lab Bootcamp", a detailed introduction to all of the experiments and procedures that undergraduates perform during the semester.
Appointments for the Spring term are made in early December.

Both lab and recitation TAs participate in a pedagogical training program organized by Jennifer Weisman, Academic Administrator for Chemistry, jweisman@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 Fall 2013 term subjects will be due during the Spring 2013 term. Upon submitting the completed application to Jennifer Weisman in the Chemistry Education Office (2-204), interviews will be scheduled with all applicants. Spring term appointments are usually announced before the December holiday break, and mid-July for the Fall term appointments.