...
Students do NOT receive any additional financial compensation as TAs while meeting this requirement. When students are supported through a GRA, part of their 20-hour semester appointment will be a TA appointment paid by the Department. Students on 10 hour or greater assignments are eligible for the Tuition Reduction Benefit. Students who have completed their TA requirement may continue to work periodically as a TA as permitted by their supervisor and allowed by their visa status for international students. For more on compensation as a TA while on fellowship, see below
TA Requirement for the Department of Chemical Engineering (Fall 2019 update)
All PhD students, including fellowship holders, are required to complete service as a teaching assistant (TA) by satisfying both of the following conditions:
- Serving for a TA in at least 2 semesters
- Serving as a TA for at least 15 appointment hours
for courses offered in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. It is expected that PhD students will begin this requirement during their 2nd and 3rd semesters and will complete the requirement by the end of their 4th year. Students do NOT receive any additional financial compensation as TAs while meeting this requirement.
Non-resident students who are employed at least half-time (20 hours per week) as a TA or GRA, or a combination of the two appointments, are eligible to receive a waiver of the non-resident portion of their tuition and will be charged in-state tuition—a provision known as the Resident Tuition Entitlement. Students employed as teaching assistants, assistant instructors and graduate research assistants are eligible for the Tuition Reduction Benefit. Students who have completed their TA requirement may continue to work periodically as a TA as permitted by their supervisor and allowed by their visa status for international students.
Some fellowships have stipulations regarding appointment as a TA while on fellowship. In such cases, the department will try to appoint students as TAs if and when permitted by the fellowship. If a student was or is on a fellowship that did not allow the completion of the TA requirements, the remaining required TA hours will be waived.
If a student is on a fellowship that prohibits TAing but the student still wishes to TA for professional development reasons, the student may register for ME 698T Teaching Practicum. The students must prepare for this option to make sure that 1) the Practicum course will be offered during the semester planned; 2) they have completed any prerequisites determined by the course instructor; 3) they have a faculty willing to mentor them in ME 698T; 4) that the faculty mentor will be teaching an appropriate course during the semester planned; and 5) that the faculty mentor agrees to the mentoring feedback process of ME 698T, which typically includes allowing the student to teach 5 lectures and attending and giving feedback for all 5 lectures. Students electing to follow this path will not be appointed as a TA, and will not receive additional financial compensation for their TA work since they are using the role for an experiential learning opportunity.
University Policies on Graduate Student Employment
...
ITA Certification | CSE TA Certification | Fellowships (Variable) | |
Year 1 | Exam in Jan.; repeat in June if necessary | TA Spring (as necessary) | |
Year 2 | ESL course in Fall if necessary | Complete pre-certification (minimally) in Fall | TA Fall (as necessary) |
Year 3Pause fellowship | |||
Year 4 | |||
Year 5 |
TA Selection Process
...
Chemical engineering students should take the TA certification through the Cockrell School of Engineering no later than fall of their 2nd year to be prepared for any TA appointment.
...
Due to University of Texas policies and to encourage equity and collaboration within the Department of Chemical Engineering, students will not be paid in addition to a full fellowship. (Full funding is typically considered $12,000 or more.) Students supported by fellowship are expected to pause their fellowship in a timely manner to comply with the Graduate School policies against working while on fellowship. Some fellowships cannot be paused and instead are decremented based on TA compensation, such as a DOE CSGF. Students are required to communicate with their fellowship administrator in these cases. Special cases where a student receives a fellowship later in their graduate career and lacks the time to pause their fellowship may discuss solutions with the Graduate Advisor. The Graduate Program Coordinator will contact the Graduate School if necessary. Students are strongly encouraged to plan ahead and to TA early in their program if they plan to apply for fully-funded fellowships in the future.
The following timeline is recommended for students who won an NSF Fellowship:
...
Received NSF as incoming 1st year
...
Received NSF as 1st year, begin fellowship 2nd year
...
Received NSF as 2nd year, begin fellowship 3rd year.
...
Year 1
...
NSF
...
TA spring semester
...
Year 2
...
NSF
...
NSF
...
TA fall semester
...
Year 3
...
On reserve-TA spring and fall
...
On reserve-TA spring and fall
...
NSF
...
Year 4
...
NSF
...
NSF
...
NSF
...
Year 5
...
NSF
...
NSF
Students who begin an NSF in their 1st or 2nd years are encouraged to place the fellowship on reserve in their 3rd year and TA both Fall and Spring semesters. Students who receive an NSF that begins in their 3rd year, by contrast, are encouraged to TA in the spring semester of their 1st year and the fall semester of their second year, reserving the spring semester of their 2nd year to prepare and take their candidacy exams. NSF fellowships must be placed on hold in early May. Because this deadline is earlier than Fall TA appointments are announced, students must inform the Graduate Advisor and Graduate Program Coordinator of their need to TA during the specific semesters when the fellowship is on reserve.Other fellowships have different guidelines and conditions. Students are responsible for knowing the requirements of their fellowship and designing a plan that fulfills the TA requirement of the department.