GTA opportunities

As a doctoral student you may have the opportunity to become a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

GTAs are doctoral students who contribute supporting learning, teaching and assessment of undergraduate or masters students. GTAs can have many different roles, like leading sessions, lab work or study groups, marking assignments, mentoring, etc.

To work as a GTA you need to complete two core training courses provided by the GTA Programme:

• Introduction to Learning and Teaching
• Introduction to Assessment and Feedback for Learning

This programme also offers other optional courses helping you improve your skills for other GTA roles:

• Promoting active learning in Labs
• Microteaching
• Supporting supervision of UG/PGT students

 Departments may also have their own development sessions for their GTAs, some of them compulsory to particular roles.

 It is important you are aware that:

• The core GTA training courses have a very high demand and they get full very quickly, so make sure you book your place as early as possible.
• Opportunities to become a GTA are mostly offered through your own department, so it is important that you read your Imperial email and check your department’s webpages for announcements and calls. However, there are some few opportunities posted in the Postgraduate Noticeboard.
• If you would like to be a GTA for a different department than your own, you need to contact that department’s GTA Coordinator or check their website for information.

The GTA training programme is accredited by AdvanceHE/Higher Education Academy (HEA), allowing students who have completed the two core courses and have sufficient experience to apply for Associate Fellow of the HEA (AFHEA), a professional recognition of your teaching experience, through Imperial’s STAR Framework.