Resources for Graduate Students

Teaching Opportunities 

There are three types of teaching opportunities available to graduate students in the Department of Philosophy:

• PHIL 717: Projects in Teaching Philosophy: students receive course credit for assisting faculty  in large lecture classes.
• Instructional Student Assistant (ISA) Positions: students assist professors with class management (managing assignments, grading, tutoring, or facilitating group discussions) for pay.
• Graduate Teaching Associateships (GTAs): students teach their own introductory-level courses.

To submit an application for ISA, Work Study or GTA employment, apply through the employment page. 

Please note: receiving a teaching position in any form does not waive tuition costs.

Graduate Teaching Associate Positions 

The University, through its major departments, provides graduate students with part-time employment as teaching associates in courses related to their area of advanced study. The appointments usually involve teaching classroom and/or laboratory courses, assessing student performance, and tutoring students. The 1.0 GTA full time base pay rate is $3245.00. The pay for one GTA course equals .20 of this base rate. Each paycheck equals the base rate/5, but GTAs are paid out 6 times per semester. Thus, the total pay for a single course per semester equals: $649 (per paycheck/month) * 6 = $3,894. For your financial planning purposes, please note that the last (6^th) paycheck of fall is issued in August of the following summer semester.

To be eligible to teach as a GTA, a student must at a minimum:

• Be admitted to classified or conditionally classified status in a graduate degree program at SFSU and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (B) or better in all course work taken at SFSU while in post-baccalaureate status.
• If enrolled previously, is not on academic probation due to earning a GPA below 3.0 in the immediately preceding semester.
• Be a degree-seeking graduate student in the academic department in which they are employed to perform instruction.
• Not be assigned to a course in which academic credit is being earned.
• Have thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of the discipline in which the assignment is made.
• Possess the ability to communicate and relate well to others within the academic environment and the ability to instruct and constructively evaluate student performance.
• Be registered at SFSU during the term of appointment in a minimum of 3 units of course work directly applicable to the graduate degree (including courses for credit toward completion of the graduate degree offered through CEL), or be in a grace semester (has completed all course work the preceding semester and is working on thesis).
• Not be appointed for more than four semesters.
• Not hold a faculty or staff position at SFSU.
• All combined student employment at SFSU may not equal more than 20 hours per week. One GTA course counts as 8 hours a week.

Apply to be a GTA

Instructional Student Assistant Positions 

We are seeking Instructional Student Assistants (aka TAs) in Philosophy!

Instructional Student Assistant: ISAs assist our professors with class management i.e., facilitating group discussions, making presentations on special topics, holding focused group tutorials, managing assignments and grading, and individual tutoring.

Working as an ISA is a great way to:

• Work closely with a professor who specializes in a particular branch of philosophy in which you might be interested. Feel free to email any of our professors and ask if they are seeking an ISA.
• Make some extra money! ISAs are paid $20.00 per hour.
• If your future goal is to teach, it’s an opportunity to gain valuable teaching insights and experience!

A new application is required each semester. Graduate students must be enrolled in 4 units (in graduate level courses), and undergraduates in 6 units to qualify for employment. ISAs may work up to 20 hours per week of combined SFSU employment.