Teaching assistantships offer graduate students the chance to support the learning of undergraduate students while building skills that will support them in their own academic careers.
In addition to teaching assistants (TA), Civil and Environmental Engineering also hire course assistants (CA).
This webpage contains information on:
Eligibility
To be eligible for an assistantship, graduate students must:
- Be in the MASc or PhD program
- Be registered as a full-time student during the assistantship
- Have supervisor permission
- Have completed the mandatory employee online training
- Have completed the ExpecTAtions workshop (uWaterloo TA training)
- Not be in the first term of graduate studies during the assistantship
- Not be over the term limit for Masters students and not more than one term over the term limit for PhD students
Additional Proctoring & Training
TAs and CAs may be asked be to assist with proctoring of a term test or exam in another course. This may be necessary to provide a sufficient number of proctors when the exam is scheduled over multiple rooms.
TAs and CAs may be required to attend training on the assessment of outcomes or attributes in their courses for the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). The training is provided since Course Instructors may assign TAs and CAs duties related to assessing attributes in their courses.
Applying
Each term the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies will send out an email with a link to apply to available TA/CA positions for the upcoming term. The application deadline for Fall 2019 TA/CA positions has now closed.
TA/CA Training
TA/CA training exists in the form of the ExpecTAtions workshop, which is a two-day training workshop run twice a year by the Engineering Graduate Studies Office. ExpecTAtions is mandatory training in order to be a TA/CA for Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Over the two days of the workshop, you will work in small, discipline-specific groups. Each group is assigned two mentors: one faculty member and one student with experience as a TA. These faculty and student mentors will work closely with you to help prepare you for the TA role by sharing their valuable experiences and unique perspectives. Through a combination of small-group and online activities, you will learn about the roles and responsibilities of TAs, practice giving lessons and marking student work, and examine the working relationships between TAs, professors and students.
Attendance for both days of the workshop is mandatory in order to be eligible to serve as a TA.
When a new offering of ExpecTAtions is announced by the Engineering Graduate Studies Office, the Administrative Coordinator will send an email to the MASc and PhD students informing them of the dates, times, and how to register.
An email will be sent to graduate students each term to register for the ExpecTAtions workshop. Please view the Teaching Assistants section of the Engineering website for information on Roles and Responsibilities and TA Resources.