CMSE Undergraduate Learning Assistants

The Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering (CMSE) is hiring undergraduate students to work as Undergraduate learning assistants (ULAs) 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), and MTH 314 (Matrix Algebra with computational applications). ULAs will work for approximately 10 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 have already taken the course with a minimum grade of 3.0 in order to be eligible as a ULA in that course. Students pursuing upper-level CMSE courses and/or one of the CMSE undergraduate programs will receive preference for ULA positions, as will students who were CMSE ULAs in prior semesters.

• Link to ULA application

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

• Name, email, phone number
• Major, Year in School, GPA, classes taken, class grades and your instructors (primarily for STT 180, CMSE 201, CMSE 202, and MTH 314). Instructors may be contacted as a reference.
• Your teaching preferences (courses and semesters)
• Prior employment at MSU, CMSE and any prior experience as a ULA.
• Of the activities described in this application, which are you the most interested in doing?
• Why do you want a position as a learning assistant in CMSE? And what do you think are important parts of being a good ULA?
• What are your ultimate career goals? (i.e., grad schools, 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 ULA 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 Undergraduate Director, Dr. Devin Silvia, at dsilvia@msu.edu.