Teaching Assistantships

Program: General Information

Every year the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) hires a limited number of teaching assistants annually to help us deliver our courses. Teaching assistants are an integral part of our teaching community.

About Applications

Please note that a separate application must be submitted for each course you are interested in. Completed applications should be submitted no later than April 30 at 11:59 pm PDT (April 18 at 11:59 pm PDT for Summer 2023 positions). Applications may be accepted after the deadline until all positions are filled but, other considerations being equal, candidates who applied before the deadline will be given preferred status.

Be advised that Teaching Assistants at The University of British Columbia (UBC) are represented by the Canadian Union Of Public Employees Local 2278 (CUPE2278) and that a Collective Agreement between UBC and CUPE2278 is in effect. All TAs are required to join the Union as a condition of employment. The collective agreement applies to all TA contracts, and selection of TAs will be done in accordance with the requirements of the Union.

Salaries are based upon CUPE 2278 and UBC rates.

UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply.

Deadline to Apply

There are currently two positions open for BMEG 321. The deadline to apply to these positions is November 23, 2023 at 11:59 PM.
Please view the application here.

The are currently two positions open for BMEG 591F Winter. The deadline to apply to these positions is December 6, 2023 at 11:59 PM. Please view the application here.

Summer TAships

New 2023 Summer TAs

BMEG 210

BMEG 457

72h for each of 2 TAs over summer term

72h for one TA over summer term
20h for one TA over summer term

Application Instructions

Eligibility

Registration

Applicants must be full-time students currently registered in a BASc, MEng, MASc or PhD program, or must have been unconditionally accepted to begin in September

Students from other degree programs may be considered based on experience and suitability to the program (Cellular & Physiological Sciences students are preferred for BMEG 410/510).

Must be a full-time, registered student during the period of their TA appointment. If you will be defending your thesis or completing your program before the end of the term you are not eligible to be a TA for that term.

Cannot be on leave from their graduate program.

Must hold an active study permit and SIN for the entirety of their TA appointment at the time of their application.

Competencies

Mastery of the course academic material and subject matter.

Ability to help students learn actively, and explain course content in a clear and logical manner.

Have an understanding of and will agree to comply with WorkSafe BC, UBC and Departmental Safety Regulations.

Possess excellent oral and written English communication skills.

Supervisor Approval

Applicants must have the approval of their Research or Program Supervisor to engage in an employment contract in addition to their academic program.

Your supervisor must be made aware of your intent to apply to TA positions and must approve of the total number of hours (especially for students that would like to accept multiple positions).

Additional Requirements

Must be available to complete the mandatory departmental safety and TA training, as well as the appropriate site-specific lab orientations, before the start of term. Please see training dates listed in the above section.

If you cannot follow the naming conventions required for the CV upload and Safety uploads, your application will not be considered. Please ensure that you follow the instructions for each upload or your application will be discarded.

All candidates wishing to be considered for a Teaching Assistant position will need to submit a new application for each course they wish to TA. Although we appreciate the interest of all applicants, only the successful candidates will be contacted with further details.

Types of Duties

Although the precise duties will vary depending on the course for which an offer/appointment is made, in general TAs can expect to perform the following duties:

Laboratory Assistance – providing instruction, guidance, and supervision for laboratory experiments, maintaining a safe and professional laboratory, assisting students with troubleshooting equipment, ensuring laboratory equipment and supplies are used appropriately and put away at the end of each session, marking of laboratory reports.

Tutorial Assistance – assisting in or leading tutorial sessions, marking of assignments, preparing written solutions, reviewing of assignments with undergraduates.

Marking – marking of assignments.

Invigilation of Exams (Mandatory) – is required. All TAs must be available for the full exam period of the term in which they are hired as a TA. TAs may be assigned to invigilate course(s) other those for which they TA.

Training (Mandatory) – New TAs and returning TAs who has not yet completed the training must participate in the TA training program and safety orientation. The training is designed to help ensure that TAs are as successful as possible in their roles and properly oriented to our teaching labs/spaces. More information on training will be provided with your offer letter.

Courses

2023 Summer TAs

Course

Time per term

BMEG 200

48h for 1 TA over one term

BMEG 400A

60h for one TA over one term

BMEG 400H

80h for one TA over one term
90h for one TA over one term

BMEG 500/501

55h for each of two TAs over one term

2023 Winter TAs

Course

Time per term

BMEG 101

72h for each of two TAs over one term

BMEG 102

72h for each of three TAs over one term

BMEG 201

Technical Communication for Biomedical Engineers) 50 hours one STA from Nov 1st to Dec 31st 2023

BMEG 210

72h for each of two TAs over one term

BMEG 220

36h for two TAs over one term
80h for two TAs over one term

BMEG 230

96h for each of four TAs over one term

BMEG 245

72h for each of six TAs over one term

BMEG 250

72h for each of three TAs over one term

BMEG 257

72h for each of four TAs over one term

BMEG 310

72h for each of five TAs over one term

BMEG 320

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 321

80h for each of five TAs over one term
60h for one TA over one term

BMEG 330

48h for two TAs over one term

BMEG 350</strong>

48h for each of two TAs over one term

BMEG 357

72h for each of five TAs over one term

BMEG 371

72h for each of two TAs over one term

BMEG 372

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 373

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 374 *

72h for each of five TAs over one term

BMEG 400B/591B

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 400C/591C

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 400D/591D

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 400E/591E

102h for one TA over one term

BMEG 400F

139h for one TA over one term

BMEG 400J/591J

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 402

60h for one TA over one term

BMEG 410/510

100h for one TA over one term
48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 455

72h for three TAs over one term

BMEG 456/556

(Clinical and Industrial Biomedical Engineering) from Jan 1st 2024 to Apr 30th 2024.    62.5 hours each for two TAs

BMEG 457

36h for two TAs over two terms
72h for nine TAs over two terms

BMEG 470

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 474

48h for one TA over one term

BMEG 490

78h for one TA over two terms

BMEG 500/501

117h for each of two TAs over two terms

BMEG 511

25h for one TA over one term
20h for one TA over one term

BMEG 550

55h for one TA over one term

BMEG 557

15h for one TA over one term

BMEG 580

72h for one TA over one term

BMEG 581

48h for two TAs over one term

BMEG 598 **

96h for one TA over two terms

* BMEG 374

This course will enable students to develop a proficiency in fundamental genetic, molecular, and tissue engineering techniques that will prepare them to work in the field of cellular bioengineering. Students will also gain experience designing experiments and tools related to these essential cellular bioengineering techniques.

Desirable skills/experience for the BMEG 374 TA includes some or all of:

Culture and experience working with E coli

Animal cell culture:

Lab safety, aseptic technique

Passaging and seeding/plating cells

Cell viability

Genetic engineering techniques:

DNA/RNA isolation

PCR, gel electrophoresis

Molecular cloning including transformation/ transfection of cells

Gene editing (i.e. CRISPR)

Additional asset to have:

Sequencing

Protein engineering techniques:

Isolation, quantification, separation

Fluorescent tagging

Proteomics

Additional asset to have:

Western blotting

Immunoprecipitation

Proximity-dependent labeling

** BMEG 598

BMEG 598 is a required course for all BMEG graduate students; therefore, to avoid a conflict of interest, the TA for this course must be a non-BMEG graduate student. Applicants from other departments are encouraged to apply.

Remuneration & Classification

Remuneration is at the standard hourly TA rates agreed upon with the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2278 (CUPE 2278).

Senior Teaching Assistant (STA): $37.59 per hour (A Senior TA is a graduate student who is registered in a masters’ or doctoral program at the University of British Columbia and required by the University to perform lead hand duties as a Teaching Assistant. These duties typically include coordinating other Teaching Assistants and providing guidance, technical knowledge, and subject matter expertise to other Teaching Assistants.)

Graduate Teaching Assistant 1 (GTA 1): $35.13 per hour (A GTA 1 is a graduate student who has completed two (2) years’ service as a graduate student teaching assistant.)

Graduate Teaching Assistant 2 (GTA 2): $33.80 per hour (A GTA 2 is a graduate student with less than two (2) years’ service as a graduate student teaching assistant.)

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant 1 (UTA 1): $22.77 per hour (A UTA 1 is an undergraduate student in a bachelors degree program at UBC who performs Teaching Assistant Duties with substantial student contact.)

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant 2 (UTA 2): $20.33 per hour (A UTA 2 is an undergraduate student in a bachelors degree program at UBC who performs Teaching Assistant duties without substantial student contact.)

Marker: $16.18 per hour (A Marker is an employee appointed to a position which involves only marking without substantial student contact.)

Evaluation Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Mastery of the course academic material
  • Ability to help students actively learn
  • Ability to explain subject matter clearly and logically
  • Ability to effectively lead discussion groups that facilitate student learning
  • Ability to constructively evaluate student presentations
  • Ability to effectively assists student learning by enabling different sets of skills, including oral and verbal communications, problem solving, critical thinking, numeracy, teamwork, leadership, planning
  • Ready to Apply?

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