Employing Students

A Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) is a full time registered UC graduate student (minimum of 8 units) in full-time residence (with exception for students approved for In Absentia status), who performs research related to the student’s degree program in an academic department or research unit under the direction of a faculty member or Principal Investigator.

In addition to the general eligibility criteria described on the Graduate Division site here, and in the campus Red Binder here, Graduate Student Researchers are subject to the following requirements:

• Appointees must hold a BA/BS degree.
• Doctoral students must be within the departmental and Graduate Council approved number of years for both advancement to candidacy and degree completion as specified in Academic Senate Regulation 350A.
• Master’s students must be within the four-year time limit set for the master’s degree as specified in Academic Senate Regulation 300A.
• The work performed may contribute to the educational objectives of the student; and/or
• The student functions as an active collaborator and/or fundamental contributor to the intellectual content of the research.

In certain cases, an Exception to Employment Policy may be requested by the home department to appoint a student who does not meet certain eligibility criteria. More details on that process are described below in the Employment Eligibility Exception Requests section.

A continuing graduate student must be registered in the previous spring quarter and have an open degree to be eligible for a summer GSR appointment. New students who register early for fall quarter in at least 8 units are eligible for summer GSR appointments if they are doing work in summer that will continue into fall (except for International Students). For more details, please consult the Human Resources site here.

For more information, please refer to the Academic Personnel site here.

A Teaching Assistant is a full time registered UC graduate student (minimum of 8 units) in full-time residence, chosen for excellent scholarship and promise as a teacher, who serves an apprenticeship under the supervision of a regular faculty member.

In addition to the general eligibility criteria described on the Graduate Division site here, and in the campus Red Binder here, Teaching Assistants are subject to the following requirements:

• Appointees must be within the departmental and Graduate Council approved number of years for both advancement to candidacy and degree completion as specified in Academic Senate Regulation 350A.
• Master’s students must be within the four-year time limit set for the master’s degree as stated in Academic Senate Regulation 300A.
• International students must be certified as having language proficiency in spoken English if their native language is not English. Additional details are available on the English for Multilingual Students program website.
• After a year or more of graduate work, the graduate record will be substituted for the candidate’s undergraduate record in appraising scholarly performance.

The department chair, acting upon nominations made by department members, is authorized to appoint TAs. However, the Dean of the Graduate Division must approve all exceptions for students who do not meet the appointment criteria described in the Employment Eligibility and Limitations on Service sections as described in Red Binder IV-1 General Information. More details on that process are described below in the Employment Eligibility Exception Requests section. The selection, supervision, and training of all TAs are important responsibilities of the teaching department, and in particular the department chair. All candidates for appointment and reappointment should be subjected to careful review and recommendation.

The TA is not responsible for the instructional content of a course, for selection of student assignments, for planning of examinations, or for determining the quarter grade for students. A TA should not be assigned responsibility for instructing the entire enrollment of a course or for providing the entire instruction of a group of students enrolled in a course. The TA is, instead, responsible for the conduct of recitation, laboratory, or quiz sections under the active direction and supervision of a regular member of the faculty to whom final responsibility for the course's entire instruction, including the performance of TAs, has been assigned.

For more information, please refer to the Academic Personnel site here. For summer Teaching Assistant Appointments, please contact the Office of Summer Sessions.

An Associate Instructor is a full time registered UC graduate student (minimum of 8 units) employed temporarily to give independent instruction for a course.

In addition to the general eligibility criteria described on the Graduate Division site here, and in the campus Red Binder here, Associate Instructors are subject to the following requirements:

• Appointees must be within the departmental and Graduate Council approved number of years for both advancement to candidacy and degree completion as specified in Academic Senate Regulation 350A.
• Appointees must hold a Master's degree, or be advanced to candidacy, and have at least one year of teaching experience.
• An Associate Instructor should be competent to conduct independently and without supervision the entire instruction of a course.

Normally an Associate Instructor will conduct the entire instruction of a course. Associate Instructors may not be assigned an upper-division undergraduate course without the approval from the Committee on Courses and General Education (CCGE) and may not teach a graduate course without approval from the Graduate Council. Associate Instructors may not evaluate fellow graduate student appointees (e.g., TAs). If TAs are assigned, a faculty member must be named responsible for the evaluation of the TA(s).

For more information, please refer to the Academic Personnel site here. For summer Associate Appointment Requests, please contact the Office of Summer Sessions.

A Reader appointment is for a student to serve as a "course assistant," which will normally include grading of student papers and final examinations. Graduate Students in this role must be registered full time (minimum of 8 units).

In addition to the general eligibility criteria described on the Graduate Division site here, and in the campus Red Binder here, Readers are subject to the following requirements:

• Graduate student appointees must be within the departmental and Graduate Council approved number of years for both advancement to candidacy and degree completion as specified in Academic Senate Regulation 350A.
• Master’s students must be within the four-year time limit set for the master’s degree as stated in Academic Senate Regulation 300A.
• Readers will normally be graduate students; however, qualified undergraduates or non-students may be employed to meet special needs or when graduate students are not available. Readers are subject to the provisions of the UC-UAW Collective Bargaining ASE Contract regardless of student status.
• Readers should have maintained at least a 3.0 grade-point average in their previous academic work, and should have taken and received at least a “B” grade in the course or equivalent in which they are serving.
• For students who have completed at least one full year of graduate work, the record of the year just past will be substituted for the undergraduate record. The appointing department will have the responsibility of ascertaining that these standards are maintained.

A Reader should not be given the responsibilities customarily accorded to a TA. Readers will usually be graduate students, but qualified undergraduates may be appointed to this position.

For more information about Readers, please refer to the Academic Personnel site here.

A Remedial Tutor assists students in understanding course concepts, discovering solutions to problems, modeling study strategies, developing methods for independent work, and preparing for upcoming exams.

In addition to the general eligibility criteria described on the Graduate Division site here, and in the campus Red Binder here, Remedial Tutors are subject to the following requirements:

• Graduate student appointees must be within the departmental and Graduate Council approved number of years for both advancement to candidacy and degree completion as specified in Academic Senate Regulation 350A.
• Master’s students must be within the four-year time limit set for the master’s degree as stated in Academic Senate Regulation 300A.
• Remedial Tutors will normally be graduate students; however, qualified undergraduate students may be employed in established undergraduate tutoring programs. Remedial Tutors are subject to the provisions of the UC-UAW Collective Bargaining ASE Contract regardless of student status.
• Additional appointment criteria, such as completion of specific coursework, may be required for Remedial Tutor positions.

Remedial Tutors may be either graduate students or qualified undergraduates. For more information about Remedial Tutors, please refer to the Academic Personnel site here.