Teaching Assistantships (for current students)

General Information

Teaching Assistants in the Department of English receive two years of support at the MA level, and 5 years at the PhD level, provided satisfactory performance as a teacher and satisfactory progress toward degree. TA eligibility is also based on the year in the program. For example, if a second year PhD receives a TA for the first time in the second year, then the PhD student is eligible to renew the TA three more times for a total of four years of assistance. As described below, renewals are granted on the basis of progress toward degree, strong classroom performance, and good academic standing. In the event of a medical emergency or other extraordinary circumstances a sixth year of support may be considered, but is not guaranteed.

In cases of programmatic need only, a student may be employed as a TA after the expiration of support. Programs seeking to hire such a TA must submit a written request to the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies detailing the programmatic need, and subject to the approval of the management team. Requests must be received by the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies with the normal submission of course requests for the following year. Emergency requests will not be considered after Dec. 15 for spring semester appointments or after Aug. 7 for fall semester appointments.

Teaching Assistants take two courses per semester, until the semester of their preliminary examination, when they are eligible to take one credit of English 990 (see Preliminary Examination). After obtaining Dissertator status, Teaching Assistants take three credits of English 990 per semester until they file their dissertation with the Graduate School (see Dissertation). New TAs enrolled in ENG 700 and ENG 820 or another 1-credit course take 7 or 8 credits for that semester.

Tuition remission for Teaching Assistants at UWM is applicable in semesters when a TA is under contract for the semester in question. Tuition remission is not applicable in summer sessions unless a TA has a summer contract to teach or to undertake other duties specified in the contract.  Each year, most TAs in English are only under contract for the Fall and Spring semesters of an academic year, not in Summer. Graduate students who are Teaching Assistants and who elect to enroll in summer should be aware that doing so without a TA Summer contract will result in paying tuition and fees out-of-pocket.

New students wishing to be considered for Teaching Assistantships for the coming year must submit an application form to the English Graduate Studies office by December 15th as part of their English Department Application. Current TAs must also submit an application form by December 15th to be eligible for renewal. Renewal and Internal forms are available online on the Graduate Student Handbook’s Forms Checklist and Links page.

Each plan Advisory Committee meets in January to review applications for Teaching Assistantships that have been submitted by newly admitted and continuing students in its plan. Only fully completed applications can be considered. Each Advisory Committee recommends up to ten students as candidates for new TA positions and compiles a ranked list. As new TA positions become available, offers are made to candidates according to this ranked list.

Teaching while on Fellowship

Teaching assistants who receive Graduate School fellowships such as the Distinguished Graduate Student Fellowship or the Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship are not permitted to teach in the First Year Composition program in the Department of English, except in circumstances of programmatic need as determined by the Associate Chair for Composition. Teaching Assistants who receive an Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship after their first year may teach one course per year in First Year Composition in fall. Incoming students who applied for and received a Teaching Assistantship and have an Advanced Opportunity Program fellowship are guaranteed one course per year in First Year Composition in fall. All such appointments are made at the discretion of the Associate Chair for Composition.

Fellowship recipients may teach one course (25% FTE) per semester elsewhere in English or in other departments or units for a total appointment of 75% FTE including the fellowship (50% FTE), if sections are available.  In English, such an assignment would be at the discretion of the plan coordinator and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. If those sections are cancelled the department of English is not responsible for providing replacement assignments.  Fellowship recipients should consult their advisors or plan coordinators when considering teaching while on fellowship.

Stepping out of a Teaching Assistantship

A student may “step out of” (temporarily resign) a Teaching Assistantship for normally up to one year, with the approval of the student’s advisor, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, the graduate coordinator of the student’s plan, and the Director of Composition or Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. There must be serious reasons for the exception, such as compelling personal circumstances or opportunities that will clearly and significantly benefit a student’s research or enhance their professional credentials. The clock (years in program) will continue to run during the time the student has “stepped out.” A student’s Teaching Assistantship status upon return thus will be determined by the number of years in the master’s or doctoral program, progress toward the degree, strong teaching performance, and good academic standing, as if the Teaching Assistantship had not been interrupted.
Contact the Graduate Studies Office in the Department of English for the appropriate documentation.

NOTE: The Graduate School requires dissertators to maintain continuous registration (three dissertation/research credits during fall and spring semesters). A Teaching Assistant with dissertator status who steps out of the assistantship must still maintain continuous registration according to the rules established by the Graduate School.

In the event that a student with approval to step out of a teaching assistantship has not finished their course work, the student’s advisor or plan coordinator, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, and the student, will develop a plan to bring the student back into compliance with the requirements for renewal.

Renewals

Renewals of Teaching Assistantships are granted on the basis of a student’s progress toward degree, good academic standing, and satisfactory performance as a teacher.

Progress Toward Degree: Master’s Students

  • To be eligible for support in a student’s second academic year at the master’s level, they must have completed at least 12 degree credits during the first year as a master’s student. In cases in which a student has not completed a total of 12 credits by the end of the end of their first year, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies may approve a probationary renewal for the following fall semester only. If all incompletes are completed by December 1 of the second year, the probation will be lifted and a contract issued for spring of the second year.
  • To be eligible for continued support, a student must have completed 30 degree credits and be admitted to the doctoral program.

Progress Toward Degree: Doctoral Students

To be eligible for support in a student’s:

  • second year at the doctoral level, they must have completed a total of 12 credits beyond the MA degree. In cases in which a student has not completed a total of 12 credits by the end of the end of their first year, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies may approve a probationary renewal for the following fall semester only. If all incompletes are completed by December 1 of the second year, the probation will be lifted and a contract issued for spring of the second year.
  • third year at the doctoral level, they must have completed a total of 24 credits beyond the MA degree. In cases in which a student has not completed a total of 24 credits by the end of the end of their second year, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies may approve a probationary renewal for the following fall semester only. If all incompletes are completed by December 1 of the third year, the probation will be lifted and a contract issued for spring of the third year.
  • fourth year at the doctoral level, they must have passed both the second language requirement and preliminary examination by the end of the spring semester and applied for dissertator status. In extraordinary cases, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies may approve a probationary renewal for the following fall semester only. If the student meets the fourth year renewal requirements by December 1 of the fourth year, probation will be lifted and a contract issued for spring of the fourth year. The Second Language Requirement form can be found online on the Graduate Student Handbook’s Forms Checklist and Links page. The link for the Preliminary Examination Application is also available on this page.
  • fifth year at the doctoral level, they must obtain a signature from the Major Professor under Section II.8 of the Internal Teaching Assistant Application indicating satisfactory progress toward the milestones specified in the student’s Research Plan, which must be filed during the fourth year. The Research Plan is located in Section 2 of each plan’s Program of Study.
    In cases in which the major professor reports that the student has only made partial progress toward the milestones specified in the student’s Research Plan, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies will approve a probationary renewal for the following fall semester only. In order to issue a TA contract for the following spring semester, the student’s advisor must submit a letter to the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies by December 1 of the fifth year, clearly indicating that the student has made satisfactory progress toward the stated milestones. With the approval of the Major Professor, the student may revise the milestones at any time by submitting a new Research Plan.

It is important to note that completion of academic progress requirements after the deadlines noted above may result in delayed receipt of any salary increases associated with a change in status.

Strong Classroom Performance

Teaching Assistants’ appointments will be renewed only if their classroom performance remains strong and only if they fulfill all the duties as required by their teaching assignment. Classroom performance will be evaluated by such measures as observation reports, student evaluations, and number of student complaints.

For Teaching Assistants who have been assigned administrative positions or other duties in lieu of teaching one or more classes, performance of the student’s administrative duties will be included in the overall performance evaluation. The student’s supervisor or supervisors will evaluate the performance of non-teaching duties, in consultation with the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies. As a factor in the overall performance evaluation, performance of administrative duties will be weighted in proportion to the percentage of appointment involved.

Good Academic Standing

Teaching Assistants must maintain at least a 3.33 average and have no incomplete grades to be eligible for renewal. Any incomplete grades at the end of the spring semester must be cleared before July to maintain eligibility. This means that the incomplete work must be submitted to the instructor at least one week before the July deadline so that there is adequate time for the instructor to grade the work and process the necessary forms. It is the student’s responsibility to make these arrangements with the instructor in advance and to inform the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies that the incomplete has been cleared.

GPC Policy on Workload

A Teaching Assistantship in the English department is considered a full-time job because the student’s instructional and/or administrative responsibilities (50% FTE) are undertaken in conjunction with their their studies. With the exception of the second semester of the first year, the student’s instructional and/or administrative responsibilities are estimated to take 20 hours per week. The student’s academic responsibilities should take approximately another 20 hours.

In the second semester, first year only, Teaching Assistants receive a one-time course release.  Students who have performed successfully in courses the first semester may elect to enroll in 9 credits, but 6 credits count as full-time enrollment. During this semester, instructional and/or administrative responsibilities are estimated to take 10 hours per week. The student’s academic responsibilities should take approximately another 30 hours.

Other employment should not interfere with these primary commitments. 75% FTE is the maximum allowable for experienced Teaching Assistants.

Use of University Equipment

Teaching Assistants may not use Department copiers to prepare materials for their own academic careers, including academic submissions required by the Department of English under terms set forth in this Handbook.