CMSE Teaching Assistants

The Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering (CMSE) may occasionally have need to hire graduate students from other programs to work as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) in some or all of the following courses (varies by semester): STT 180 (Introduction to Data Science), CMSE 201 (Computational Modeling and Data Analysis I), CMSE 202 (Computational Modeling and Data Analysis II), MTH 314 (Matrix Algebra with computational applications), and some of our 800-level courses. GTAs will work for approximately 20 hours/week doing some combination of the following activities: 

1. Facilitating student learning during in-class sessions 
2. Assisting students with questions, conceptual issues, and programming syntax in the help room 
3. Participating in weekly instructor meetings 
4. Reviewing all upcoming course materials prior to weekly meetings 
5. Assisting lead instructors with reviewing classroom experience and improving classroom materials 
6. Assisting in the grading of assignments 

Applicants must demonstrate good interpersonal skills; strong oral and written communication skills; an eagerness to learn; and the ability to work in a self-directed manner and as part of a team. Although no prior work experience is required; applicants must be enrolled in a graduate program at MSU and have taken CMSE courses (or equivalent experience) to be eligible for a GTA position. We cannot guarantee that there will be open slots each semester because we meet the needs of our CMSE PhD, CMSE MS, and CMSE dual PhD students first. However, if we have open positions, we will review your application and contact you. 

• Link to GTA application

NOTE: To help in your preparation, this application will ask questions related to the following: 

• Name, email, phone number 
• Program of study, prior teaching experience, prior coursework, and comfort with various programming languages used in our courses. 
• Your teaching preferences (courses and semesters) 
• Prior employment at MSU, CMSE and any prior experience as a GTA. 
• Of the activities described in this application, which are you the most interested in doing? 

• Why do you want a position as a graduate teaching assistant in CMSE? And what do you think are important parts of being a good GTA? 
• What are your ultimate career goals? (i.e., research, teacher certification, work in industry, etc.) 

 
To ensure that you would be available for at least one or more sections of the courses that you are interested in serving as a GTA for, make sure to review the MSU schedule and section information using the following website: https://student.msu.edu/search 
 
If CMSE is not able to offer you a position for the semester that immediately follows the semester during which you apply, we will keep your application on file and will reach out to you appear to be a good candidate for future openings. We will do our best to notify you of our decision on your application, but if you do not hear from us and would like to know the status of your application, please do not hesitate to contact the CMSE Graduate Director, Dr. Rachel Frisbie, at salmonra@msu.edu.