A TA assists faculty with the general duties of preparing for class and provides logistical support or coordination as needed for coursework, course/AV set up, room scheduling, transportation, etc. They may NOT assign grades or serve as substitute instructors in the absence of the instructor of record.

Students in good standing are eligible for positions as teaching assistants. They normally are Design School students, although occasionally a student from another Harvard school may serve as a TA at the GSD.

As of July 1, 2020 TA's earn $17.00/hr and typically work 3-5 hours per week. However, they can work up to 20 hours/week in total, among all jobs combined at the University when classes are in session, 40 hours/week in total during breaks. They may not assist faculty in any professional or personal work not directly related to instruction or research at the GSD.

Students who have been awarded federal work-study as part of their financial aid package may use these funds for their positions, in which case a portion of the student's salary will be paid by government funds.

Teaching Assistants (TA) may be responsible for the following:

• Reserving classrooms and setting up equipment
• Taking attendance
• Making copies
• Providing support for in-class lessons
• Attending discussion sections
• Arranging separate review sessions
• Being available via email
• Managing Canvas*
• Collecting assignments**
• Scanning and posting readings
• Creating and managing course folders on the GSD network
• Interfacing with the Library and CRG

*TAs are able to perform all administrative functions within Canvas with the exception of those related to student data. Student data includes but is not limited to student work, academic progress, and enrollment information. In no case are TAs granted instructional access.

**Due to restrictions protecting student data, TAs may only collect student work outside of Canvas, either physically in the classroom or via file transfer from the instructor.

Research Assistants (RA) are paid $17.00/hour upward for graduate students. An RA conducts research on a specific research account and cannot be paid with funds from a course budget.

Teaching Fellows (TF), who are doctoral students, assist faculty in preparing course materials and in offering instruction. TF’s are expected to:

• Attend the weekly lectures given by the course instructor;
• Prepare all of the assigned readings and lead weekly section discussions;
• Grade all assignments and establish the final grades for the students in their section(s);
• Receive approval on their final grades from the course instructor before they are submitted to the registrar

TF's are paid a preset salary on a monthly payroll.  If you plan to hire a Teaching Fellow, please contact Margaret Moore de Chicojay in the Advanced Studies Program office.

Teaching and Research Fellows
Only a limited number of courses are assigned teaching fellows who may assist faculty in preparing course materials and in offering instruction, but may not be responsible for the structure and content of a course. They may conduct teaching sections, tutorials, and design critiques. They may also read papers, review designs, recommend grades, and assist in supervising independent study projects. Teaching fellows may not offer more than one lecture or seminar in any course in the absence of the faculty instructor of record and may not assign course grades. Research fellows may assist faculty in the conduct of research, but may not be responsible for the structure or content of investigations. They may conduct experiments, record data, perform quantitative analyses, document evidence, conduct literature searches, prepare drawings, etc. Research fellows may not serve as principal investigators. They may participate, on occasion, with faculty in the conduct of instruction as described above. Teaching and research fellows may not assist faculty in any professional or personal work not directly related to instruction or research in the GSD.