1. All About Teaching Assistantships
Betty Lise Anderson
Associate Chair

2. Three ways to get funding
Fellowships
If you have one, you already know about this
Only awarded to new students, not students already here
Research assistantships
Your advisor has funded grants or contracts
You are hired by your advisor directly
Teaching assistantships
Administered by department (me)
All of these pay tuition and fees

3. Spoken English
All TA’s are required to demonstrate proficiency in spoken English
Ohio Law
Four ways to accomplish this (details next slides)
Show you grew up in USA
Get a great score on the iBT TOEFL
Pass the OPA (Oral Proficiency Assessment)(given locally on campus)
Pass the Oral Proficiency Assessment

4. Show you grew up in USA…
If you grew up in US, England, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada, you’re exempt
Except if you grew up in Puerto Rico, Quebec or anywhere English is not the primary language
“Grow up” means spent most of your childhood in these countries
“Lived there a couple years” not sufficient
Growing up in countries where English is widespread but not the primary language does not count
If in doubt, take the test

5. Get a great score on the iBT TOEFL
If you get iBT TOEFL speaking component score of 28, 29 or 30, administered by ETS, you are certified
Or, if you took IELTS and got 8.5 or higher, you are certified

6. Pass the OPA test Given locally at OSU
OSU=> College of Education and Human Ecology=>English as a Second Language=>Spoken English Program
Offered at least once a month
Make an appointment online
Cost to student is $110

8. They will place you They will “place” you:
You could be certified to teach right then
Could be placed in EDUTL 5040 or 5050
Could be “conditionally certified” but that won’t make you eligible for most of our TA assignments

9. If you don’t pass the OPA
If you place into EDUTL 5050 (English course, also teaches teaching skills)
At end, take Mock Teaching Test
Give a 10 minute lecture to a real audience
If you pass, you’re certified!
If you don’t, take EDUTL 5050 again

10. If you place into EDUTL 5040 You take EDUTL 5040
Following semester, take 5050
Become certified after taking Mock Teaching Test at end of 5050

11. When you pass the test…
Send me a copy of the test result so I can add you to the list of eligible TAs.

12. What do TA’s do? Might teach labs
You are the instructor
Two sections of a 4-hour lab or three sections of a 3-hour lab
We have some basic circuit labs, but we also have a range of higher-level labs that are more specialized
May also conduct recitations in very large lower level undergraduate courses, plus grading
May be asked to grade for a large course plus hold office hours
On rare occasions may be asked to help with course development
If no student contact, don’t need spoken English certification

13. How do I apply?
Applications will be sent out by in the middle of the semester
Goes to all matriculated ECE graduate students
If you don’t get it by end of Oct, contact me
If you don’t apply, I won’t put you on the list
Even if you applied in the past
I can’t tell who is on RA or whatever
I can’t tell if you’re away on internship
I don’t necessarily know who has graduated or dropped out
Just reapply.

14. How are TAs selected? Priority order:
Fellowship students who were promised support as part of recruiting package (this is rare-see your letter for details)
PhD students who have been funded on RA in the past but advisor is experiencing gaps in funding
Students with special skills (e.g. can cover specialized labs)
Other PhD students
Passed Candicacy>Passed Qualifier>not passed either
MS students who have been funded on RA in the past
Other MS students

15. More comments on TA selection
There are typically ≈20 TA’s per semester
We have ≈400 graduate students
We try not to give TAs to the same people over and over
Spread it around students
Spread it around faculty advisors
Your advisor has to say you’re making good progress toward your degree
Conclusion: TA funding can help, but can’t be counted on to get you through graduate school

16. Graders This is hourly (a few hours/week)
Does NOT require English certification (no student contact)
Graders for courses based on number of students enrolled
Bigger classes get more grader hours
Grader positions do not pay tuition
I will let faculty know how many (if any) grading hours they get by end of first week of classes
I send this information out to all graduate students too
Faculty (not me!) will choose and hire their graders.
You cannot be an hourly grader AND an RA or TA at the same time

17. Other opportunities Graduate Administrative Assistantships
E.g., at the library or other organizations on campus
TAs in other departments
E.g., freshman engineering courses
A good TA could work there for years
They hire for the year, and have already done their hiring for this year
Math (?)

18. Commercial Break Secrets to Finding Good Courses
Grad students can take courses in the 5000, 6000, 7000, and 8000-level
You can take lower courses but they won’t count toward your degree
A few 4000-level exceptions, but not in math or physics
You can take courses in other departments!
Consider physics, chemistry, math, statistics, computer science, any other engineering department, anatomy…
Check with your advisor

19. But wait! There’s more! Secret code internal to ECE:
xx0x: communications and signal processing
xx1x: electromagnetics and optics
xx2x: circuits
xx3x: solid state, nano, semiconductors, photonics
xx4x: power and energy
xx5x: controls
xx6x: digital/computers

20. Contact Info
Prof. Betty Lise Anderson, Associate Chair
Office is 200 Caldwell Lab