Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Brandeis’ Department of Student Rights and Community Standards provides information about student rights and responsibilities, including those relating to academic integrity (Section 4). Their website also provides resources for faculty and students related to academic integrity and the reporting form for suspected cases of academic dishonesty. 

The Academic Services office provides academic advising and support to Brandeis undergraduates. Visit their website to learn more about services they offer, find advisor contact information, and explore their resources for faculty.

The Library’s Subject Liaisons are resources available to help you integrate Library resources in your teaching and to support your use of instructional technology. Find the Subject Liaison for each discipline and/or area on the Library’s Subject Liaisons page, and schedule an online appointment right from their website. 

The Center for Teaching and Learning provides resources and support for all who are engaged in teaching at Brandeis, including graduate students. They also oversee the TA, CA, and TF training on LATTE.

It is important to be aware of your rights and responsibilities related to use of copyrighted works as part of your teaching. Visit the Brandeis University Library’s Copyright Guide to learn more about what copyright is, how it applies to your teaching, and how to maintain compliance with copyright laws.

Students serving in teaching roles will receive evaluations from the students whom they teach, as well as from their supervising faculty members. For information about accessing these evaluations, please view our course evaluations page.

Teaching Assistants and Course Assistants are expected to work an average of up to ten hours per week. Teaching Fellows are expected to work an average of up to fourteen hours per week. Graders are expected to work an average of up to eight hours per week.

1.5, 1.0, .75, and .5 Teaching Assistant positions all follow the same definition in terms of responsibilities; the only difference is the average number of work hours required per week.

All TAs, CAs, and TFs must complete a series of trainings in their first semester of teaching. The purpose of Brandeis's TA/CA/TF training is to prepare you to engage with some of the most important legal, social and pedagogical considerations that instructors must navigate in higher education. Your participation will not only prepare you for teaching at Brandeis but also hone your skills as an educator.

Your participation and completion will be tracked in Workday.

Where and how do I complete the required training?

There are four separate trainings: Supporting Students Outside of Academics; Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Violence, & Accessibility at Brandeis; Pedagogy; and Pedagogy for International Students (this last is only required for international students who have not received a previous degree from a US institution). If you completed a given training in a previous semester, you do not need to complete it again. To view the trainings you have completed, visit your student profile in Workday; click on "Personal" in the left-hand sidebar and then on "Additional Data" at the top of the screen. You will see a list of trainings; any that you have completed will have a completion date alongside them.

To complete the Supporting Students Outside of Academics; Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Violence, & Accessibility at Brandeis; and Pedagogy trainings, please visit this LATTE page (available during the training period for each semester).

If you are an international student and do not have a previous degree from a US institution, you will need to complete the Pedagogy for International Students training and will receive an email about this from Vino Murugesan, the Director of English Language Programs.

The SEIU Local 509 contract governs the employment of PhD students as TAs and TFs. Under the contract, these roles are defined as follows.

Teaching Assistant. Teaching Assistant duties may include, but are not limited to, assisting the professor with: course preparation before and during the semester; Latte maintenance; grading essays, exams, and homework; syllabus design; writing exam questions. Teaching Assistants may be required to attend classes on a regular basis. Teaching Assistants may also be responsible for some instructional duties, including the following: lead discussion sessions, labs and recitations and/or teach an occasional class. They may also be responsible for some student advising and may be required to hold office hours. Teaching Assistants are required to complete Title IX training. 

Teaching Fellow. Teaching Fellows, with Program and faculty leadership and oversight, are the Instructor of Record and are responsible for lesson planning and implementation, administration and grading of assessment tools, student advising and holding office hours. Teaching Fellows are required to complete Title IX training. 

All PhD students are members of the union when serving in these roles. PhD students cannot be hired as Teaching Assistants except through the union role and using the negotiated rate of pay, which is paid via stipend. PhD students, regardless of where they are in their programs, are not eligible to be hired into hourly Teaching Assistant positions at the university. Roles other than Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows, such as Graders, Research Assistants and Course Assistants, remain non-union roles. If you have questions about this policy, please contact Liz Tierney (etierney@brandeis.edu).

The Support at Brandeis site is a centralized list of support resources available to Brandeis Students, with tailored lists for undergraduate and graduate students.

Under certain circumstances, students in TA, CA, and grader roles are eligible for tuition waivers. Please visit the link for more details.