Summer Opportunities

The School of Biological Sciences assigns Graduate Student Teaching Assistants, Undergraduate Tutors, and Undergraduate Instructional Assistants (UGIA) during summer sessions

Effective Summer 2023: All students who meet minimum eligibility requirements are able to apply.

Current UC GPA of at least 3.000
Enrolled as a UC San Diego Student for Spring 2023 Quarter
Undergraduates selected as a first time IA (UGIA) are preauthorized and required to enroll in BISP 195 during the session of assignment.
- UGIA candidates should keep in mind the associated tuition and fees involved in enrolling in BISP 195 during summer session.
- Assigned UGIAs are responsible for associated Summer Session tuition and fees - more information on summer session tuition and fees
- BISP 195 is a four-unit course, taken pass/no pass; may fulfill an upper-division biology elective requirement
Prior completion of the same or equivalent course of the IA assignment. Instructor may require completion of certain courses with stipulated grades (often a grade of A or B expected). See also, Alternative Qualifying Courses

Only graduate students are eligible to assist in upper-division biology lab courses.

Students may not assist in more than one course per summer session; however, students may assist in both Summer1 and Summer2 opportunities.

Graduate Students

Graduate students may apply for teaching assistant positions. Minimum eligibility requirements:

UC San Diego graduate student, enrolled in at least 12 units in the previous spring quarter
Minimum 3.000 GPA
Some instructors may require completion of certain courses with stipulated grades.
Those assisting for the first time will also complete an online training curriculum

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduates may apply for Undergraduate Tutor or Undergraduate Instructional Apprentice (UGIA) positions. Minimum eligibility requirements:

Undergraduate Instructional Apprentices (UGIAs) - UGIAs will enroll in BISP 195 where they will benefit from practical classroom experience under the direct supervision of a biology course instructor, learning the fundamentals of instruction in a collegiate level science course. UGIAs will also complete an online training curriculum. UGIAs who successfully complete this experience earn four units of academic credit (BISP 195).

Undergraduate Tutors - Students with prior experience as an Undergraduate Instructional Apprentice (UGIA) in a Biological Sciences class (via passing grade in BISP 195) are eligible to apply for Undergraduate Tutor (Tutor serving as a Teaching Apprentice) positions.

Minimum eligibility requirements for all UGIAs/Tutors:

Prior completion of the same or equivalent course of the UGIA/Tutor assignment. Instructor may require completion of certain courses with stipulated grades (often a grade of A or B expected). See also, Alternative Qualifying Courses
A cumulative 3.000 UC GPA at the time of application and during the quarter of assignment.
A minimum of 90 units completed or transferred into UC San Diego at the time of application.

Restrictions for UGIAs/Tutors:

Students may NOT assist in more than one course per term at UC San Dieg
Students may assist once as a UGIA for academic credit in the Division of Biological Sciences. Upon successful completion of BISP 195, eligible students are considered for Undergraduate Tutor opportunities.

IA Performance Expectations

Actual duties for a particular course may vary. Complete descriptions of duties will be provided to selected applicants by the instructor of record for the course. Typical duties include:

Graduate IAs:

Attend lectures
Lead discussion section(s) or lab section(s)
Hold office hours
Assist with development of exams
With faculty oversight, develop new (written) course material for use in discussion sections/ homework/ exams/quizzes/ review sessions
Proctor and grade exams
Meet regularly with the instructor
Assist with course management
Mentor undergraduate instructional assistants
Other applicable duties as assigned by the instructor

Undergraduate IAs:

Attend lectures
Facilitate discussion or lab section, using written content generated by the instructor or graduate IA
Hold office hours
Provide feedback to instructors on exam drafts
Proctor and grade exams
Meet regularly with the instructor
Other applicable duties as assigned by the instructor

Performance Evaluations and Standards

IAs are evaluated by the instructor of the course and by the students enrolled in the course.

IA Workload

Summer session assignments vary based on the course and associated workload. Typical assignments vary from 15-35 hours per week.

Most of these hours are accrued in the five-week summer session (I or II) and final exam (plus grading) period (see Schedule of Classes). If required, instructors will inform IAs of the need to work hours in the pre-session week.

Lower-Division and Upper-Division Lecture Courses: Graduate Teaching Assistants lead two or more discussion sections; Undergraduate Tutors lead one or more sections; UGIAs may facilitate one section.

Upper-Division Lab Courses: Graduate Teaching Assistants lead one lab section each.

BILD 4: IAs lead one or more lab sections each.

Employment Information

A Division of Biological Sciences’ team member will contact you by email if you must attend an employee hiring session.
Graduate students employed in Teaching Assistant title code 2310 and Undergraduate Tutors employed in title code 2860 are covered by a collective bargaining agreement between UC San Diego and the ASE/UAW.
Names and addresses of all ASEs are released to the UAW as a condition of employment in the represented title codes.
See the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) website for additional information concerning Academic Student Employment (ASE).

Apply for Summer Session 1 Apply for Summer Session 2

Questions? Send them to biota@ucsd.edu