Teaching Assistant Resources

Which classes have TA’s?

The Economics Department assigns TA’s to core classes in the undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. levels. These include:

• Undergraduate Courses: Econ 101, 104, 201, 204, 205, and 210
• Master’s Courses: Econ 601, 602, 605, 608, 612, 613, and 620
  • TA’s for Master’s classes are sometimes selected directly by the instructors from among Master’s students who have taken the course previously.
• PhD Courses: Econ 701 & 705, 702 & 706, and 703 & 707
  • TAs for PhD classes are usually selected directly by core-course instructors.

Which classes have Head TA’s?

Undergraduate core courses often have Head TA’s (HTA’s) in addition to TA’s. HTA’s are Ph.D. students in years 3 and up who have experience working as a regular TA. HTA duties are more administrative than instructional; for example, HTA’s coordinate the work of the other TA’s (undergraduate and graduate); arrange and conduct grading of assignments and exams; etc.

Do non-core (elective) courses have Grad TA’s?

Faculty who are teaching non-core courses and need instructional support can hire PhD GA’s to work as teaching assistants in their classes, or hire Master’s TA’s with their own discretionary funds. These hires must be approved by EcoTeach.

When and how are TA’s assigned?

The Teaching Assistant assignment process begins in the spring semester, after PhD GA’s have been assigned for the following year. The EcoTeach office solicits applications through a survey. All second-year PhD students and any students in years 3 and up who want or need to work as a TA apply, ranking their preference for course assignments. The Graduate Programs Coordinator, EcoTeach Director, and PhD DGS work together to place student TA’s, balancing student preferences with departmental needs. Students are notified of their assignments by email before the end of the Spring semester. Assignments occasionally change during the summer due to unexpected circumstances.

All Graduate TA’s are required to complete a two-part training sequence. In the summer preceding your TA year, you will receive details about these training requirements from the TA Director:

1. Duke University's TA Training Modules, which will be made available through a Canvas site. Below are links to the offices at Duke discussed in these modules:
   1. FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: Duke's policies and procedures
   2. DukeReach: Resource for helping students in distress
   3. Title IX Sexual Misconduct: What it is, how to help
   4. Student Disability Access Office: Helping students with accommodations and accessibility
   5. Promoting Academic Integrity
2. Economics Department TA Training Workshop, led by the TA Director (a current Ph.D. student) and usually conducted in August before the start of the academic year. Head TA’s will attend additional workshops, scheduled separately. 

Economics Graduate Teaching Assistant Training Canvas Site

Graduate TA’s will have access to the Economics Grad TA Training site on Canvas, which provides extensive resources, links to the Coursera training, and a forum for discussions with other TA’s.

Other Resources at Duke

• Key dates of each term can be found at the Academic Calendar from the university Registrar's website.
• Duke Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education provides resources for those teaching courses at Duke. In particular, contact them if you encounter an issue with Canvas.
• Duke Graduate School Certificate in College Teaching is a year-long certificate program run by the Graduate School with the goal of preparing graduate students to teach in higher education.
• Resources for College Teaching: Resources for students from the Certificate in College Teaching program, available even if you aren’t enrolled in the CCT program. Some resources are specific to teaching during the pandemic.
• The Graduate School's (TGS) website Guidelines and Policies for TA's provides much information about resources available from Duke and TGS, expectations, etc. 
• Duke's Office of Student Conduct assists with alleged violations of university policies.
• The International Center for Academic Integrity provides terrific resources for promoting academic integrity across different disciplines.
• Trinity College has a collection of Academic Policies & Procedures for undergraduates which address various scenarios, such as missing class attendances or exams, taking a course with S/U grading, and more.
• The Academic Resource Center provides a variety of academic resources for students, including individual learning consultations and tutoring & study groups.