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Teaching Assistantships

An Info Session will convene Wednesday, 4/6 at 12:15 PM, over Zoom, for about thirty minutes. If you are interested in joining the meeting, kindly send an email to gss-graduate@northwestern.edu by Wednesday 4/6 by 11 AM at the latest.

In preparation for that meeting, kindly peruse the wonderful GSS TA handbook that a former GSS TA, Ashley Ferrell (School of Communication/ GSS certificate) has drafted, drawing on our collective expertise and experience, and which covers most aspects of the GSS TAship from beginning to end (thank you, Ashley!). We will also be joined by our first ever GSS graduate coordinator, Addie Shrodes (School of Education/GSS certificate), who, as a former GSS TA, will be able to offer more information on the TA side of things. The meeting will be recorded, so if for whatever reason you are interested but unable to attend, and/or want to submit questions over email that can be answered during the meeting, just reach out, and we will be happy to make the recording available to you.

Gender & Sexuality Studies welcomes applications for its teaching intensive and pedagogy focused TAships. The four Teaching Assistantships support our 200-level courses, provide an opportunity for TAs to teach courses outside their home disciplines, and supplements students’ professional training. Teaching Assistantships are competitively awarded on the basis of applications and brief interviews. This TAship includes 3 quarters of stipend (standard rate set by TGS), tuition, and health subsidy. You can also find additional information about the GSS TAship and in the interview process in the GSS TA handbook. 

TAs will assist with our 200-level lecture classes such as (this list is tentative and not exhaustive):

TAs will also lead one class on their own. We are particularly interested in candidates who are interested in teaching the following:

Gender & Sexuality Studies certificate students will be given priority, as will applicants who are ABD. We welcome applications from rising 4th and 5th year students. We can consider applications from rising 6th and 7th years, but you will not be able to bank any quarters from your home department.

Deadline: April 29, 2022 at 5pm
[Applications will open April 1]

Application Requirements:

First, please complete this supplemental form, which asks for the following information (provided here only for your reference):

  • Are you pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Gender & Sexuality Studies?
  • List any other grants or fellowships for the coming year for which you have applied.
  • Name and email of faculty who will provide a brief letter of recommendation. We encourage you to ask for a letter of recommendation from a faculty who can speak to your teaching experience and interests, as well as to your training to date in Gender & Sexuality Studies.
  • List two faculty members (aside from your recommender) who would support your application to be a Gender & Sexuality Studies TA. They do not have to provide any information at this time but may be consulted during the selection process.
  • Contact information for your home department’s DGS and graduate staff person.

Second, the following documents should be uploaded to this GAship application portal. All documents must be saved as PDFs, and please include the title of the document (CV, Personal Statement, etc.) in the header/footer.

1) Personal Statement (up to 2 pages double spaced)

  • How would you benefit from being a Gender & Sexuality Studies TA, as a teacher and as a researcher in training?
  • What skills and expertise would you bring to GSS courses at this stage of your doctoral studies?

2) Teaching Statement (approx. 500 words)

  • Outline your teaching philosophy and pedagogical objectives to date, especially in terms of the relationship you see between your research and pedagogy. Make sure also to list and describe your teaching experiences.

3) CV

  • Include the graduate-level Gender & Sexuality Studies courses (feminist theory, queer theory, etc.) you have taken while at Northwestern, and/or other relevant coursework.
  • Include your teaching experience (quarters, course titles, supervising professor, approximate number of students, self-designed courses, etc.). Include any experience you have in working with students on their writing.

4) Course Proposals

  • Include TWO 300-level Gender & Sexuality Studies course proposals based on your research expertise but accessible to a broad range of undergraduates. One of these should be related to one of our teaching priorities and one open-ended. These proposals should include titles, descriptions (one paragraph), and brief, preliminary reading lists.
  • This may be uploaded as one or more files.

5) CTECs or other relevant teaching evaluations

  • This may be uploaded as one or more files.

Direct any questions to Paola Zamperini (GSS Director of Graduate Studies) and/or Eliot Colin (GSS Program Assistant).

 

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