Mentored Teaching
In Anthropology, students are required to complete three teaching experiences. If students, in consultation with their advisors, require further pedagogical training, they may pursue the advanced teaching track by completing two additional teaching experiences.
Normally, students complete at least one of the three teaching experiences before candidacy (e.g., in the form of a teaching assistantship). These experiences include teaching assistantships in the Department & “Internships” and teaching opportunities in the College Core Courses (most notably Self, Culture, & Society; Power, Identity & Resistance; and Colonizations), the Little Red School House Writing Program, and Civilization Sequences (African, East Asian, Latin American, South Asian, and Middle Eastern). All positions are advertised through the Departmental e-mail network. The university requires Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs) for all doctoral students, regardless of their funding source. Until the 3 MTE’s are fulfilled, the teaching salary is subtracted from the quarterly University stipend and paid out as salary.
Each year, the Department appoints 5-6 Distinguished Graduate Student Prize Lecturers on the basis of proposals solicited periodically to teach undergraduate anthropology core courses in the major. Students who have completed the advanced teaching track are eligible to apply for these prize lectureships. Lectureships are also available on a competitive basis in Global Studies, Latin American Studies, Gender Studies, and from the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture. Course assistantships are arranged with individual faculty members who may require such assistance.
Classroom Teaching: Classroom teaching training is meant to give students the necessary hands-on pedagogical experience to eventually design and lead their own courses as professional academic teachers. Students may fulfill the classroom training requirement through one of the following options:
Internship: Typically for small classes in which a faculty or instructional professor is the lead instructor. Students in the intern role will attend class meetings with the instructor of record and assist in leading classroom discussions, mentoring students for class assignments, and grading exams and papers among other activities. All these engagements will be advised by the instructor(s) of record.
TAship: Typically for large classes in which a faculty member or instructional professor is the lead instructor. Students in the TA role will attend lectures and engage in various kinds of interactions with student, which may include leading discussion sections, leading review sessions, supervising research assignments, grading papers and exams, among other roles. All these engagements will be advised by the instructor(s) of record.
Stand Alone Instructor of Record: Doctoral students may in some cases serve as the instructor of record, typically for a small undergraduate class. Students in this role will work closely with their PhD adviser as teaching mentor, who will advise them in designing the class and carrying out instruction.
Co-Teaching with Faculty as Instructor of Record: Similar to Stand-Alone Instructor except that students will share the role equally with a faculty in designing the syllabus and in carrying out all duties of instruction in the classroom.
Teaching off-campus in a comparable course lasting one academic term
In general, students will need to have Intern/TA experience first in order to qualify for Lectureships and Co-Teaching opportunities.
For Anthropology courses, all teaching assignments will be vetted by the Department’s Undergraduate Affairs Committee. Courses in the College Core or particular programs will be assigned via the faculty in charge of those programs.
Other Qualifying Teaching Training: Beyond two classroom teaching experiences, students may also choose to fulfill one of their teaching requirements with the following options:
Teaching Prep Seminar: enrolling in a pedagogical practicum offered by the Anthropology faculty
Center for Teaching Training: take advantage of courses, workshops and other training offered by the Center on campus that is equivalent to the Teaching Prep Seminar
Students in consultation with their main adviser / PhD chair, may also petition the DGS and the Graduate Affairs Committee to recognize other qualifying teaching experiences better suited to their specific program of study
Department of Anthropology Teaching Opportunities
For other teaching and employment opportunities at the University of Chicago, click here