Teaching Assistants

Close to 2000 undergraduate students take Department of Chemistry classes during each academic year. Without the service of highly dedicated teaching assistants (TAs), who work with faculty as part of a teaching team, it would be difficult to achieve the high levels of instruction the department is known for.

In a typical lecture class TAs lead recitation sections, meeting with students for one to two hours beyond the three hours of weekly faculty lectures. Lab TAs assist students in conducting challenging laboratory experiments unique to the MIT chemistry curriculum. While TAs tend to be predominantly first-year chemistry graduates, qualified undergraduates are also hired every semester to lead recitations. Because of the department's commitment to quality instruction, enough TAs are hired to allow sections to be no larger than 12-15 students.

For more information contact:
Melinda Cerny, (cerny@mit.edu)
Assistant Director, Chemistry Education