Program Overview | Training and Development | Roles/Responsibilities | Pathway to Teaching | Resources
Welcome to the Teaching Assistant Program in Statistics and Actuarial Science
The Teaching Assistant (TA) Program encompasses all aspects related to graduate teaching assistantships, including training, assignments, evaluations/performance management and awards.
In collaboration with the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), we offer the Foundations for University Teaching in Statistics and Actuarial Science training program which provides sequential levels of training to graduate TAs. Our training helps graduate students further develop their teaching and TA skills with a unique focus on Statistics and Actuarial Science courses and material. Upon completion of the program, participants:
- receive a Certificate of Completion issued jointly by the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science and the Centre for Teaching Excellence,
- receive a Letter of Experience from the department outlining their participation in the training program with details on the training received and practicum experiences.
- are eligible to apply to be a TA Coordinator.
- are eligible to apply to teach an undergraduate course within the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science.
Additionally, completion of our program also covers all workshop (and potentially up to 2 of the microteaching) requirements for CTE’s Fundamentals of University Teaching program. That means you can complete this second certificate program with minimal time commitments.
Assignment Process
As a SAS graduate student, TA units are often assigned to help support you in funding your education. The assignments are determined in collaboration with the Associate Graduate Chair, the SAS graduate staff and the TA program team. Our program considers both graduate student preferences and instructor preferences to help determine the best possible assignment of our TAs to our courses.
Timeline of the TA Assignments
The process for assigning your course(s) as a TA begins the term prior to your TAship. This process begins about 2 months prior to the start of term and ends about 1 week before classes begin.
- Instructor TA Duty Preference Form: Instructors fill out a form with their preferrred TA duties, responsibilities, and expectations.
- Graduate Student TA Preference Form: SAS graduate students fill out their preferences and qualifications as a TA. This includes courses, TA duties, and Foundations training progression.
- Instructor TA Preference Form: Instructors receive the list of graduate students interested in being a TA for their course(s) and provide their preferences on which TAs would best fit their course(s).
- Preliminary Assignment: Our TA assignment database performs preliminary TA assignments based on the results from the various forms.
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Final Assignment: Final adjustments are made by the team and TA assignments are sent out with the Letter of Appointment.
**Please note that this timeline is approximate. Timing can change for a variety of reasons including changes in available TA funding. If you have questions, please email TA Program.
TA Program team
Chelsea and Divya are responsible for the delivery and coordination of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science’s Foundations for University Teaching in Statistics and Actuarial Science training program. If you have questions regarding the program, please see the Training and Development page and/or email TA Program.
Chelsea Uggenti is a Lecturer in the Statistics and Actuarial Science department. She graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a BA in Mathematics and from The University of Western Ontario with a MSc and PhD in Statistics. Chelsea served as an instructional assistant and teaching assistant for 8 years as both an undergraduate and graduate student. Her doctoral research includes investigating graduate teaching assistant training and development in the mathematical and statistical sciences. Chelsea is driven to assist in the training of teaching assistants – focusing on discipline-specific training – and aims to provide pathways for graduate students to develop their teaching identity.
Max is a PhD student in Statistics. He received a BSc in Statistics from University of Toronto, and a MSc in Statistical Science from University of Oxford. Max has been working as a TA since undergraduate studies and has so far TA-ed both STAT and COMM courses at different levels. He has experience in teaching tutorials, marking exams and assignments, helping instructors design exam questions and many more. By completing four levels of the TA Program, Max has been awarded a certificate of Foundations for University Teaching and Learning in Statistics and Actuarial Science. He is open to exchange experience and share insights of serving as a TA, so as to help our student community have a more enjoyable learning environment.
Reza Ramezan is a research-active Associate Professor, Teaching Stream within the Statistics and Actuarial Science department. He earned his PhD in Statistics here at the University of Waterloo where he also completed the Certificate in University Teaching program (CUT). After graduating, he took a tenure-track position at California State University, Fullerton, and returned home to Waterloo in 2017 to join our faculty. Reza's research lies at the intersection of statistics and neuroscience. He focuses on information coding in the brain, where he develops multivariate and high-dimensional scalable models for communication among nerve cells. A passionate and energetic instructor, he emphasizes interdisciplinary teaching, critical thinking, and professional growth, while fostering a positive learning environment. Within the TA training program, Reza aims to use his experience and expertise to help our graduate students enhance their teaching skills.