A number of factors determine how graduate teaching is assigned by the department:
- Which courses are being offered.
- The number of students enrolled for various courses that require TAs, GAs, or GIs.
- What stage of their degree the graduate student is in.
- The amount of external or internal funding a given graduate student has, apart from any teaching assignments.
- The academic and teaching interests of the graduate student.
- How a particular student's teaching assignment possibilities relate to the scheduling requirements of other students in the department.
- Graduate student teaching performance as reflected in TA evaluations for TAs and GAs and in course evaluations for GIs.
- The qualifications or prior teaching experience of the graduate student.
- Instructor demand for GAs.
In general, a best effort is made to match students with courses that are suitable in terms of interest or experience. However, given the challenges of coordinating a large number of graduate students and in light of the department’s needs and resources, assigned courses cannot always match student preferences.