The Department of History has a limited number of teaching assistant positions to offer in any given year. Many students are offered TA-ships upon admission to the program. There may also be positions available for continuing students. All continuing students who wish to serve as a teaching assistant should submit an application to the departmental admissions committee by January 25 each year. The application consists of: a short statement explaining the student’s teaching interests and experiences, a list of all previous teaching experience, at CUA and elsewhere, and, when available, a copy of teaching evaluations. In distributing positions, the committee will consider the following factors: the clarity and cogency of the applicant’s statement, the desirability of providing teaching opportunities to as many students as possible, the quality of previous teaching, and the needs of the Department (including having TAs teach classes in their fields and under the supervision of their faculty advisers). Positions awarded will be announced during the spring semester. PhD students are given preference for all teaching positions; it is very rare for MA students to be able to teach in the Department.

A teaching assistantship is not simply a way to support graduate students financially and staff large courses. Rather, a teaching assistantship is an apprenticeship for a graduate student to learn to become a teacher by working in close contact with faculty. Faculty should regularly meet with teaching assistants to review the course material and to discuss approaches to teaching it. Faculty should also observe each teaching assistant at least once a semester, and offer feedback and suggestions on the student’s teaching. Teaching assistants are expected to attend all meetings of a class for which they are a TA, to hold regular office hours where students can meet with them, and to be available for consultation with students in scheduled meetings and over email. Typically, TAs also teach discussion sections and grade written work. However, each class is different, and it is incumbent on the supervising professor to meet with TAs at the start of the term to explain the course and their expectations of teaching assistants.

The Department also occasionally has teaching fellow positions to offer. Teaching fellows give their own undergraduate courses. The possibility of such classes is entirely dependent on the scheduling needs of the Department and the availability of faculty. Should such positions be available, the Chair, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, will invite experienced, advanced PhD students to apply.

There are also many other teaching opportunities available at the community colleges and other smaller schools in the DC-area. The Director of Graduate Studies regularly distributes announcements about such positions and many of our students have taught in such venues.