You may be able to enrich your undergraduate academic experience by assisting with a class. Qualified undergraduate UTAs work directly with professors to support the department’s teaching mission. Assisting peers and modeling successful academic practices offers many rewards. UTAs develop communication and leadership skills and insight into how people learn. They also gain a deeper appreciation of the subject matter and develop a working relationship with a faculty mentor.

To qualify as an UTA, SLHS majors must have junior or senior class standing and a grade point average of 3.5 or higher (overall or in the major). Applicants must have earned an A- or better in the course for which they are applying to assist with and be able to regularly attend their assigned course.

Courses that utilize UTAs vary from semester to semester. Student placements are based on faculty needs, preferences and schedules. When possible, we match students with their requested classes.

UTA activities vary with the course and instructor. Responsibilities may include helping to facilitate classroom activities, preparing course materials or equipment, and providing supplementary instruction outside the classroom. As an UTA, students participate in no more than six hours per week of teaching assistance throughout the semester.

To prepare for an UTA internship, students who are accepted into the program enroll in SLHS-X 471, a two credit hour S/F training seminar offered in the fall semester.

Note that X 471 does not fulfill a SLHS major course requirement, but does count as an elective towards the B.A. or B.S. degree.

Students who have been accepted into the program and who wish to continue as UTAs in the spring may enroll in X 471 for a second semester for one credit hour as long as they have completed the training seminar and remain in good academic standing.

Because the UTA training seminar is offered only during the fall semester, the application process happens just once an academic year. Eligible majors will be invited to apply in the spring semester of their sophomore and junior year. Look for email announcements in the spring semester.

Submit your completed application and unofficial transcript following instructions in the invitation email sent to eligible students. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by the end of the spring semester.