University of Southern Maine

Each year, the Office of Graduate Studies provides funding for a number of Graduate Teaching Assistants to work with faculty members teaching large enrollment Core-designated courses. The primary purpose of these Assistantships is to help faculty better achieve the goals of the Core Curriculum in large-enrollment courses, particularly in the areas of student writing, reading, and critical thinking. We also hope that Core TA’s will help increase student retention by freeing up more time for faculty members to spend with their Core students.

Core Teaching Assistants are recruited from USM’s graduate programs and work 10 hours per week as graders, tutors, section leaders, lab assistants, or in a combination of roles designated by their faculty supervisor(s). TA’ s may not be used as research assistants (except for course-related work) or office administration. The Teaching Assistant is selected by the faculty member from applications received by the Office of Graduate Studies.

You may request a Core TA for one or both semesters of the academic year. The Fall and Spring Core courses need not be the same, provided the same faculty member is teaching both courses. Two or more faculty members offering different sections of the same Core course(s) are also eligible to apply for a Core TA.