All PhD students, including fellowship holders, are required to complete service as a teaching assistant (TA) by satisfying both of the following conditions:
for courses offered in the Department of Chemical Engineering. It is expected that PhD students will complete this requirement during their 2nd and 3rd years. Courses taught outside the Department of Chemical Engineering do not count for the TA Requirements, unless student received prior approval from the Graduate Advisor.
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.
Many students have additional considerations when planning the completion of their TA requirements. Some of the most common issues are summarized in the following table and discussed below.
pa | 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 3 | Pause fellowship | ||
Year 4 | |||
Year 5 |
TA positions will be assigned by early summer for the upcoming fall semesters and late Fall for upcoming spring semesters. All graduate students who have not completed their TA obligation will complete a survey of courses they prefer to TA. The students should prepare these preferences in consultation with their supervisors so that students can request TA assignments with their supervising professor, if desired, and manage their research obligations. Students who have already met their TA obligation may also complete the survey. After students have submitted their list of preferred courses, the departmental graduate advisor and associate chair will make the TA assignments. Faculty requesting one or more of their students to TA their course will be given top priority, although TA appointments are always assigned based on the needs of the department.
Summer TAs are appointed on an ad-hoc basis by faculty. The Graduate Office is not responsible for selecting summer TAs, but TA effort for a summer course counts toward the TA requirement on a pro-rated basis (e.g. a 20 hour summer assignment for first session counts as 7 hours towards the requirement). Maymester courses do not count towards the degree requirement.
International students who are not native English speakers must take the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Certification to measure their ability to present information in an academic area to undergraduates. Some chemical engineering students are exempt from this requirement; the exemption information is available here. The test is offered during limited times throughout the year and is a prerequisite for teaching at UT. A student should take the ITA certification BEFORE they intend to TA. The Department of Chemical Engineering will pay for the first exam; the student is required to pay for any subsequent exams.
The following timeline is recommended for ITA certification to prevent TA appointment complications assuming a fall start to the PhD program:
Year 1, Spring semester: take the exam early January before classes begin
Year 1, Summer: if student did not pass, retake the exam early June
Year 2, Fall semester: if student did not pass, enroll in ESL 389T, 388S, or 389S on the advice of the international office
Failure to pass the exam or the ESL course within the first three long semesters in residence will remove students from the PhD program and place them in the Master’s program. Students will have one additional long semester for completion of a terminal Master’s degree. A PhD supervisor may petition the Graduate Advisor in writing for a one-time extension of one long semester for completion of the exam due to exceptional circumstances.
The Engineering Teaching Assistant Certification program provides professional learning opportunities in the fundamentals of engineering education, promoting student success and other aspects of fulfilling their responsibilities as educators and mentors. Certification is required for all new Cockrell School TAs during the first semester in which they are appointed. https://students.engr.utexas.edu/grad-student-resources/professional-development. When a pre-certified graduate student is later appointed as a TA, s/he can complete the remaining certification requirements during the first semester of appointment to attain full Engineering Teaching Assistant Certification.
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.
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.
In special situations, a student will be unable to meet the suggested timelines so as to not have a conflict between TA requirements and fellowship regulations. In these cases students should register for CHE 398T Supervised Teaching. Students will need to receive permission from the Graduate Advisor to use TA CHE 398T for TA credit prior to enrolling in the course.
This course will provide opportunities for students to develop their academic careers through experiential teaching.
Students will TA for a course with student interaction.
It is valuable for the student to receive feedback from different sources and to become familiar with the available resources on campus to improve their engineering education skills. During this course the student’s teaching will be observed multiple times.
Staying current in engineering pedagogy is important for a student’s competitiveness on the academic market. During the semester, the student will also attend two workshops on effective teaching in higher education, either through the University of Texas at Austin or at a professional academic conference. The student will write a half-page summary of material learned at each workshop.
Finally, the student will create a teaching portfolio that includes a teaching statement, evaluation of teaching effectiveness that incorporates student feedback, and full CV.
Other final materials could include textbook reviews, sample lesson plans, or sample syllabi.