What’s involved?

As a graduate teaching assistant, you will be asked to carry out duties supporting the delivery of taught units on some of our undergraduate degrees.

Your duties will be directed by the Academic Lead for Postgraduate Tutors and the relevant course Unit Lead. Specific teaching duties will depend on which area you work in. You can find out more by looking at our current opportunities.

You will be provided with all the materials needed to run sessions and provided with appropriate training. You will also be supported by the academic member of staff leading the unit. More information can be found in the University Graduate Teaching Assistant Guidance Documentation (Word) and FBMH Graduate Teaching Assistant Guidance Documentation (Word).

Some courses will require some additional reading to prepare you to deliver the sessions, though you will be paid an hourly rate for your in-class and preparation time (agreed in advance of your work, according to a tariff).

Time commitment

We know that you are here to do research, so we allocate work that is manageable around your PGR project priorities and commitments. We recommend that you consider carefully what time you have available before signing up to teaching, as we will ask you to make a clearly specified commitment that may span an academic semester.  In line with UKRI guidance, we do not expect PGRs to teach for more than 6 hours per week.

It is a good idea to discuss your plans for teaching with your supervisory team at an early stage and to raise any questions you might have. After the first year, most GTAs choose to keep on teaching with us for one or two more years during their PhD.

What you get in return

If you are a postgraduate research student, you will be paid at an hourly rate, which includes preparation time.

You will gain valuable teaching experience while being fully supported by both your academic team and the Doctoral Academy. There are also opportunities to buddy or shadow more experienced graduate teachers if you wish.

We carefully match your skills and experience with the requirements of the teaching session, and try (where possible) to accommodate timetabling requirements.