How To Become A Graduate Teaching Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a graduate teaching associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Mike Levine

A graduate teaching associate is a student who has completed their master's degree and is currently undergoing a doctorate program. Graduate teaching associates usually work at colleges and higher institutions. They help professors by taking on some workload and also help to teach and guide undergraduate students.

The assistant's duty includes leading discussions in the classroom, acting as mentors to their students, and conducting research. A graduate teaching associate can act independently without supervision.

There are some skills you must have before you can be a graduate teaching associate. You must be able to work independently without consulting with supervisors or another staff member all the time. Also, you must have completed specific training before applying for the position. Apart from this, you must be willing to read and work for up to 40 hours weekly as some institutions demand.

What general advice would you give to a graduate teaching associate?

Dr. Mike Levine

Assistant Professor, Christopher Newport University

In the next 3–5 years, I anticipate that research will be expected that explores more interdisciplinarity; owing both to intellectual trends in the academy, and to an ever-shrinking job market, which means that more will be demanded by less people. As well, you will be expected to be an expert in the exciting, interesting research niche that you have found and written about in your dissertation; but also quite knowledgeable about a broad range of information applicable towards teaching large general education (GE) classes filled with non-major students. Expertise in both of these areas will make you more competitive and give you a broader network to work with.

ScoreGraduate Teaching AssociateUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,418

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

8.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.11%

Asian 11.89%

Black or African American 11.02%

Hispanic or Latino 17.64%

Unknown 4.53%

White 53.81%

Gender

female 50.98%

male 49.02%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

3.7

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.8

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a graduate teaching associate

Explore graduate teaching associate education requirements

Most common graduate teaching associate degrees

Bachelor's

69.5 %

Master's

24.3 %

Doctorate

4.5 %

Start to develop specific graduate teaching associate skills

Skills	Percentages
ESL	89.31%
Classroom Management	1.80%
Lab Reports	1.18%
Undergraduate Courses	0.80%
Syllabus	0.79%

Research graduate teaching associate duties and responsibilities

Utilize digital technology for educational purposes by managing blackboard page.
Create syllabus, grading policies, and assessments to ensure student progress.
Grade student topic selections, outlines, PowerPoint slides, and post-speech evaluations.
Develop, prepare, and organize class syllabus, lectures, and online sections of courses base on curriculum.

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