Computer Science Teaching Assistantships

Deadline for Spring 2010 TA applications: 5pm on Wednesday, November 25 2009.
An initial TA assignment will be made in the following weeks.
All TAs/GAs must reapply.

Requirements

You can apply for a teaching assistantship in the Computer Science Department provided:

1. You have been admitted to the CS department.
2. You have an undergraduate or graduate degree in CS, and have maintained a high GPA (typically 3.5/4).
3. Where necessary, you have taken the TOEFL examination and have obtained at l east 75 (IC), 230 (CBT) or 575 (paper).

Note that full TAs may not engage in any outside work beyond their TA (e xcept for research). You should have taken courses in core subjects such as:

1. Assembly Language or Computer Architecture
2. Data Structures
3. Analysis of Algorithms

To be considered for a TA position in a particular subject, such as Operating Systems, you must have taken courses in that subject and its prerequisites. Exceptions are sometimes made, depending on our needs. In general, CS PhD students have first preference, followed by CS MS students, but we may also consider outstanding advanced undergraduates or ECE students. For new students: we rarely award assistantships to incoming students, unless you are a Ph.D. student or you have previous experience as a TA (preferably in the US) and your skills match the department's needs. Because courses at different institutions differ, we give much greater weight to grades from Stevens. To become a teaching assistant, we recommend that you come to Stevens, get good grades, impress the instructors, and have a Stevens instructor recommend you for the TA position. There is always more demand for TAs than positions available. To increase your chances, try to get a recommendation for a course that is not as popular as others, for example, there is often a surplus of TA applications for database and software engineering courses. Faculty recommendations from Stevens faculty are the most important factor in our decisions.

Instructions for applying

All current teaching assistants who wish to continue with a TA position must re-apply each term.  Teaching assistant appointments are normally for one term.  Reappointment will be based on your performance and on department needs. Applicants who do not follow the application instructions cannot be considered. To apply: Edit this application form and submit it via email to the TA Coordinator (not any individual faculty member. Do not send duplicate copi es to Prof. Oliensis. ).
If you need to send supporting documents, send them by fax, surface mail, or email, or you can leave them in the TA Coordinator's mailbox (currently J. Oliensis). Documents sent by email must be in one of the following formats: plain ASCII text, RTF or PDF. No other formats can be accepted. Faculty recommendations from Stevens faculty are the most important factor in our decisions.

Interviews

In rare cases, primarily for students new to the department, we may contact you for an interview before the start of classes. (These interviews allow us to assess your English skills and your experience in CS.) All new students contacted for interviews must arrive on campus at least one week before classes start.

TA Coordinator

The current TA Coordinator is John Oliensis. Please address email only to the TA coordinator email alias.