Graduate Program
Teaching Opportunities for Political Science Graduate Students
Teaching Assistantships and Internships
General Information
Teaching assistants and interns work with an instructor to gain experience in leading discussion sections, grading papers and exams, and in some courses, training in pedagogical methods. Students serve as teaching assistants in political science undergraduate lecture courses and in the department’s methodology sequence, where they are given responsibility for leading discussion sections and grading written assignments. Students serve as interns in the college Core or Civilization courses; the primary purpose of internships, unlike teaching assistantships, is to prepare students to serve as Lecturers in a given Core or Civilization course. The current salary for teaching assistants and interns is $1,500 per course, and slightly more for Writing Program Interns. The Dean of Students in the Social Sciences Division determines the eligibility but students in Advanced Residency also generally receive tuition remission for the quarter in which they hold a teaching assistantship or intern position.
Application Procedures
In some cases, a transcript, cover letter, letter of recommendation, or teaching statement may be required in addition to the application and vita. The application deadlines are generally mid-spring quarter. The Writing Program deadline is mid-winter quarter. Watch for announcements for specific dates, and in some cases, application forms to download. The Collegiate Master approves teaching assistantship and intern appointments and sends official appointment letters in June or July. For applications and further information regarding the Social Sciences Core courses and for Civilization courses, please go to: http://sscd-jobs.uchicago/edu/.
Department Courses
The department announces its teaching assistant needs in the spring quarter for the following academic year. Students apply and a faculty committee makes the appointments. Unexpected needs frequently arise at the beginning of each quarter and the department announces and makes appointments at the last minute. The Division, as a practice, does not allow first and second year students to serve as teaching assistants although the department can make some exceptions for second year students.
Social Sciences Core Sequences
Teaching interns are needed for five Social Sciences core sequences: “Power, Identity, and Resistance” concentrates on various aspects of power in the modern world; “Self, Culture, and Society” studies theories of political economy, the individual and society, and cultural interpretations; “Democracy and Social Sciences” examines the public role of empirical social science; “Mind” draws from psychology, anthropology and philosophy to consider the functioning of the human mind; and “Classics of Social and Political Thought” investigates criteria for understanding and judging political, social, and economic institutions. Core chairs, in consultation with other members of the faculty, appoint interns from among those who apply. Interns attend weekly staff meetings.
Civilization Sequences
The civilization sequences, part of the general education requirement of the College curriculum, introduce undergraduates to primary sources and significant documents in one of the world’s civilizations. There are about a dozen civilization sequences in which Political Science students may be qualified to teach: Africa; American; Ancient Mediterranean; East Asia; Europe; Islam; Judaism; Latin America; Near East; Russia; and Science, Culture, and Society; South Asia. The College does not offer all sequences every year.
College Writing Programs Interns and Tutors
A writing intern is a graduate student who provides a writing instruction component in one of the year-long humanities common core courses. A thorough and well-organized teacher-training is required before interning. The current salary is $1,900 per quarter for new interns, and $2,000 per quarter for returning interns. Tuition remissions are generally available for students in Advanced Residency.
The Writing Program also helps to hire and provides training for the Writing Tutors who work in Harper Library and in some dorms during the evenings. Tutors do not work in a course; instead, they hold office hours and work with undergraduate students seeking help on a paper draft or an outline. Contact the Writing Program for details on salary and training.
You may apply for any of the above positions in the unified Writing Program applications process. The application deadlines are mid-winter quarter.
Foreign Language Teaching
If you possess fluency in a Romance, Germanic, Middle Eastern, East Asian or South Asian language, you may find opportunities to TA or teach; pedagogic training in language acquisition may be a prerequisite before entering the class room. Check with specific departments for details.
Lectureships in the College Core and Civilization Courses
General Information
Lecturers teach, guide discussion, and grade papers and exams. The Core and Civilization sequences generally follow a set syllabus. The College appoints advanced graduate students to teach their own sections of Core or Civilization courses. To be eligible to apply, students must have interned in the Core or Civilization courses and have had their dissertation proposals approved prior to the application deadline. In general, the selection committee gives preference to students who have completed a substantial portion of their doctoral dissertation. The positions pay a salary of $3,500 for a one-quarter course section. Subject to the approval of the Dean of Students in the Social Sciences Division, students in Advanced Residency generally receive tuition remission for the quarters in which they hold lectureships. Students appointed as Lecturers will receive advance guidance in the teaching of these courses and concurrent guidance through close association with the staff of the courses during the year.
Application Procedures
For applications and further information regarding lectureships in the Social Sciences Core courses and for Civilization courses, please go to: http://sscd-jobs.uchicago/edu/. The Collegiate Master recommends lectureship appointments and must receive official approval from the Provost’s office. The Collegiate Master sends official appointment letters in June or July.
Grodzins Prize Lectureships
General Information
Advanced graduate students in political science, selected as Grodzins Prize Lecturers, offer their own undergraduate courses. Course proposals should be aimed at the educational objectives of the undergraduate majors—not as specialized as a dissertation, but rather designed to introduce students to some of the conceptual problems and empirical underpinnings of the field. Some recent Grodzins Prize course offerings include “Politics of Difference in East Asia,” “Identity in International Relations,” “Just War in Comparative Perspective,” and “Feminism and Historical Materialism, A Critique.” The current salary for lecturers is $3,500 per course. Subject to the approval of the Dean of Students in the Social Sciences Division, students in Advanced Residency also generally receive tuition remission for the quarters in which they hold lectureships.
Application Procedures
Applicants submit course proposals in early January. The application also calls for submission of a vita; an account of where you are with respect to the dissertation and any teaching experience; a syllabus that includes the title of the course, bibliography and organization and brief course description.
Other Lectureships
Programs such as International Studies, Public Policy, Gender Studies, and Human Rights sponsor lectureships from time to time. You can contact these departments directly or look for announcements over the polsall listserv.
M.A. Workshop Leaders
To help first and second year political science students develop and write the M.A. paper, the department established the M.A. Paper Workshop, which is led by advanced graduate students. The workshop begins with the development of master’s paper proposals in the spring quarter of the first year, and continues with the research and writing of the master's paper in the autumn and winter quarters of the second year. The two faculty readers of the M.A. Paper remain as the main advisors on the project. The department usually appoints two advanced graduate students to lead the workshop. The salary is $5,000 for the three quarters. These positions require admission to candidacy status.
Preceptorships
General Information
Preceptors guide upper-level undergraduates or students in one-year master’s programs who are writing bachelor’s or master’s theses. Preceptors often lead an advanced colloquium and offer guidance throughout the academic year to a small group of students in planning their program of study. Preceptors may have weekly staff meetings with faculty, program administrators, and other preceptors. These positions usually require a nine-month commitment and offer students an opportunity to become deeply engaged in the workings of an undergraduate major or master’s program. Generally, ABD status is required before serving as a preceptor. Currently undergraduate preceptors receive a salary of $6,500 and master’s program preceptors receive a salary of $20,000, or more.
Political Science B.A. Preceptorship
The department requires some undergraduate political science majors to participate in the B.A. Colloquium (PLSC 29800) in the autumn and winter quarters of their senior year. The department has designed the colloquium, usually organized along methodological or field lines, to help students carry out their B.A. paper research. It meets weekly in the autumn quarter and bi-weekly in the winter quarter with individual advising in the spring quarter. The department will appoint at least four advanced (beyond the M.A.) graduate students to act as preceptors who will direct the colloquium and to help students organize their papers and comment on drafts. Faculty members will be responsible for the final grading of the papers although the preceptors make recommendations regarding honors designation. Compensation is $6,500 for the academic year.
Center for International Relations
Each of three preceptors guides about twelve students in their fourth year who are preparing bachelor’s theses. Call 834-5288 for openings; for more information on the concentration, visit the CIS website.
Master’s Programs
The Committee on International Relations (CIR) and the Master’s of Arts Programs in Social Sciences (MAPSS) and Humanities (MAPH) all depend on preceptors to guide students through their one-year programs. Duties are extensive, and may include advising master’s students on their plan of study, teaching a fundamentals course, supervising master’s theses, reading admissions files, and recruiting new students. Preceptors in master’s programs generally receive a salary of $20,000, or more, and a tuition remission if in advanced residency. Contact the programs directly or watch for announcements over the polsall listserv.
Other Teaching Opportunities
Summer Session at the University
Students can propose a summer course for University undergraduates. The call for applications occurs in mid-autumn quarter. The Collegiate Affairs Committee selects the proposed courses and the Summer Studies office gives the final approval. The Summer Studies office can cancel a course due to low enrollment. For more information, contact the Summer Studies Program Coordinator at 702-5012.
Graham School of General Studies
Students can propose to offer non-credit courses through the University’s continuing studies program. Courses generally last eight weeks and typically meet once per week. No grades, papers, or exams are given. The average salary for an eight-week course is $1,200. For more information and a list of deadlines, contact 702-1729.
Area Institutions
The department frequently receives notice of openings for full and part-time teaching positions at area universities and colleges. These notices go out over the polsall listserv.
Other Teaching Resources
Center for Teaching and Learning
The Center provides support to University teachers through workshops, seminars, and conferences. These include the Workshop on Teaching, a two-day orientation for new teaching assistants and instructors at the start of autumn quarter; the Basic Skills Workshop that covers the fundamentals of classroom instruction for new teachers; and teaching consultations that provide help with questions related to teaching, either theoretical or practical (e.g., videotaping of a class session, conducting midterm evaluations, discussing teaching portfolios, or other issues). All consultations are confidential. Additional programs include the Conversations in Teaching and the Best Practices Conference that are periodic and annual gatherings of graduate students and University faculty to discuss issues of pedagogies in depth; the Technology Workshop introduces educators to the technical tools at their disposal; and finally, the Center is currently developing a program which will lead to a certificate in university teaching.
Teaching Portfolio Resources
The University’s Writing Program has put together links to four kinds of resources: (1) on-line articles about teaching portfolios; (2) comprehensive sites, which explain in detail how graduate students and faculty can assemble a portfolio and how institutions use portfolios in hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions; (3) bibliographies and lists of portfolio-related links; (4) less comprehensive sites, which give brief advice on assembling a teaching portfolio.
