Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts

How Philosophy Graduate Student Teaching Is Assigned

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How Philosophy Graduate Student Teaching Is Assigned

How Philosophy Graduate Student Teaching Is Assigned

All graduate student teaching is organized by the DUS in consultation with the DGS and Head.

Grading assistantships

The DUS contacts graduate faculty teaching 0- and 100-level classes that have sufficient enrollment and content appropriate to host a grader to see whether they would like to have a grader, and if they would, whether they think any particular of the incoming graduate students would be especially suitable for the course. Students are placed accordingly, or in case faculty do not have assignment preferences, then randomly.

Teaching assistantships

The DUS ensures that there are sufficient lecture-size courses for the incoming TAs; which set of courses become lectures depends on expected enrollments and on the availability and interest of graduate faculty to teach them. The DUS contacts the faculty teaching those lectures to see whether they think any particular of the incoming TAs would be especially suitable for the course. Students are placed accordingly, or in case faculty do not have assignment preferences, then randomly.

Fourth-semester instructorships

The DUS assigns each second-year graduate student, for their fourth semester, the course that they TA’d in their third semester or a course included in the list of preferences provided during the request for course-preferences circulated during their first semester or as balance and breadth in the 0-level curriculum requires.

Subsequent-semester instructorships

The DUS assigns graduate students to courses influenced by the list of preferences provided during the request for course-preferences and by curricular needs. These courses are generally at the 0- and 100 level; assignment to 200- and 400-level courses occurs only in extraordinary situations, where there is insufficient faculty availability to cover such courses.