Course Assistants for Math 22 and Above

Course Assistants for Math 22 and Above

In our math courses, undergraduate CAs hold an essential role in supporting students throughout the curriculum. In addition to running problem sessions and/or holding office hours, CAs have the important task of grading problem sets and providing feedback to both their students and the instructor. While the role may vary course to course, students regard CAs as one of the most important influences on their course experience. If you are interested in supporting students, we hope you will consider applying!

Job Responsibilities
While every course has specific needs of its CAs, there are common responsibilities across the courses:

  1. Attending all classes. This keeps the CA connected with the material being taught in class and facilitates the collection and return of graded work.
  2. Grading student work. CAs grade student assignments, such as homework and quizzes, which involve objective assessments, such as checking answers on a problem set. CAs may be responsible for maintaining a gradebook and should keep the instructor up to date on common student challenges and report any concerns about particular students.
  3. Running problem sessions and/or office hours. One of the key responsibilities for CAs is providing support to students working on assignments. Many CAs hold their office hours during Math Night. (The number of office hours depends on course needs and individual schedules.)
  4. Offering feedback to the course instructor. In line with the other responsibilities above, CAs are typically well positioned to communicate course issues to the instructor, whether they’re for individual students or for large portions of the class.
  5. Developing course materials: In some courses, you may be asked to write homework solutions, write course notes, post materials to the course website, or run sections.

In some courses, you may be asked to write homework solutions, post materials to the course website, or run sections. At the start of each semester, we run a training to prepare CAs for their role.

Pay Scale
For a full-time CA, the job usually requires, on average, 12-15 hours per week. CAs are paid on a weekly basis.

Prerequisites
All course assistants must be current Harvard University undergraduate students who are enrolled in courses full-time, either on campus or remotely. CAs must have completed at least two full semesters at the university. We do not hire first-year undergraduates as CAs, since we want to encourage first-year students to focus on their studies and acclimating to life at Harvard before taking on such a large responsibility. All CAs must be in good standing with the college, academically and otherwise, with a GPA of at least 3.0.

How To Apply
Towards the end of each semester, the Mathematics Department solicits applications for Course Assistant positions in upper-level courses through a department wide email announcement and flyers posted around the Science Center. (Contact Cindy Jimenez to put yourself on the email list.) Interested students should complete the application during the application period.

For fall semester appointments, a tentative line-up is announced in May. For spring semester appointments, a tentative line-up is announced in December. Final hiring decisions are made after course enrollments and instructional needs are known.

For questions about Course Assistant positions for Math 22 and above: Contact Hannah Constantin or Charlotte Trainor.