Student Employment Opportunities

TA Appointments

Search for Open Positions

All open OOMPH Teaching Assistant (TA) positions are advertised in PHLEX, a BPH job board hosted by Career Services.  Many opportunities are also sent out to students via BPH student listservs.

Eligibility

  • All UC Berkeley TA Candidates should be familiar with these 1st time TA and eligibility requirements.  Additional campus-wide student employment guidelines can be found on the Graduate Division website, including a full list of eligibility requirements.
    • Please note: OOMPH is unable to hire first–time GSIs/TAs for Summer courses because the TA training/pedagogy course is not offered in the Summer.  Grad Div requires that first–time TAs take the pedagogy course prior to or concurrently with their first appointment.
  • OOMPH students who have completed first year courses, are currently registered and in good academic standing are eligible for TA appointments.  TA candidates must be enrolled “full time” during the semester they plan to hold a TA appointment.  For OOMPH, full time status is 6 units.
  • Students interested in TA appointments should check in with their academic advisors about balancing a TA position with coursework and other commitments.

Length of Courses and Appointments

Full Term, 15 week Courses = 5 month TA appointment, 25% Effort

  • Fall: August 1 – December 31
  • Spring: January 1 – May 31

Half Term, 8 week Courses = 3 month TA appointment, 40% Effort

  • Fall 1: August 1 – October 31
  • Fall 2: October 1 – December 31
  • Spring 1: January 1 – March 31
  • Spring 2: March 1 – May 31

Summer, 7 week Courses = 2 ½ month TA appointment, 40% Effort

  • Summer 1: May 1 – July 15
  • Summer 2: June 15 – August 31

Time Commitment

As a TA, you will be part of an instructional team led by the Faculty Instructor. Course enrollment numbers determine the size of the instructional team with one TA for every 35 students enrolled in the course. At 36 students, a second TA is hired. 

TAs are hired at either 25% effort (average of 10 hours/week) or 40% effort (average of 16 hours per week), depending on the course length (see above).  The appointment period includes course preparations and training, the weeks of course delivery and final exam week through the calculation of course grades.  Instructors are expected to manage teaching team duties and prioritize work activities for TAs so as not to exceed the appointed level of effort.  

Compensation

Fall/Spring Semester Appointments:

Residential MPH Students

Online MPH Students

  • Monthly Salary: equal to the appointed % effort times the monthly TA salary rate
  • Full Fee Remission (includes SHIP)
    • Covers Program Fees for the appointed semester, not to exceed the total Full Fee Remission amount ($11,248 for AY24-25)
    • Example of how fee remission works for OOMPH students who are enrolled in 6 units:

      • “Full Fee Remission” covers the following fees (using Fall 2024 rates):

        Student Service Fee      $627.00
        Tuition                            $6,381.00 (covers OOMPH per unit program fees)
        Health Insurance Fee   $3,221.00*
        Berkeley Campus Fee    $820.00
        Class Pass (AC Transit)    $105.00
        Instructional Resilience Fee $130.00
        Total fee remission: $11,248.00

        This is the maximum amount of fee coverage, regardless of an OOMPH student’s total per unit program fees.  *The Health Insurance remission amount only applies if a student is enrolled in SHIP.
        An OOMPH student enrolled in 6 units would have the following fees:
        Instructional Resilience Fee $130
        Berkeley Campus Fee    $820
        Health Insurance Fee   $3,221
        Per unit program fees  $8,868 for 6 units ($6,381 is covered by fee remission)
        Total fees: $13,039
        After fee remission is applied, the outstanding balance would be: $13,039 – $11,248= $1,791

Summer Appointments:

  • Monthly Salary: equal to the appointed % effort times the monthly Summer Sessions TA salary rate
  • There is no fee remission for Summer positions.

TA Responsibilities and Expectations

Each course will have its own course site within the bCourses system.  In bCourses, students will access course content, activities and assignments as well as interact with classmates and instructors.  TAs contribute greatly to the success of OOMPH courses by interacting with students and providing grading and feedback. While the exact responsibilities will depend on the design of the course and the direction of the Faculty Instructor, TAs provide both instructional support and student learning support throughout the instruction period.  All TAs are expected to do the following:

  1. Respond to student emails within 24 hours of receiving them (M-F) and once over the weekend.
  2. Provide students with timely (within 72-96 hours of due date) feedback/grading on all assignments.
  3. Hold a one hour office hour session each week of instruction.
  4. Monitor student progress for assigned students and update Faculty Instructors weekly on student progress and concerns.  Brief instructors about any students that are exceeding expectations or failing to meet course deadlines.  Both groups of students should be identified as early as possible and given appropriate feedback throughout the remainder of the course as directed by the Faculty Instructor.  Include in your weekly progress report, any feedback on the design and effectiveness of course materials and assignments.
  5. Look ahead at future week’s pages in the course site.  Look for broken links, missing materials and unclear instructions.  Bring these to the Faculty Instructor’s attention.
  6. Complete other duties as assigned by the Faculty Instructor such as facilitating online discussion forums and/or monitoring progress on group projects and facilitating group interactions.

You are not expected to provide technical support for students and should direct students to report technical issues to the 24/7 technical support found on the course site and in the course syllabus.

TA Training and Support

TA Training & Support

OOMPH faculty and staff are available for training and support throughout your appointment. 

The Online Course Facilitator Handbook introduces the basics of online education as practiced by the ONLINE MPH program.

Technical training is provided for you to:                                                                                                         +

  • Access and navigate the bCourses site 
  • Upload and link to course files in bCourses
  • Use grading features in bCourses to provide feedback to students on assignments
  • Conduct web conferences for office hours
  • Create and share tutorial videos
  • Use communication tools to create a stronger online community

First-time TA Requirements

TAs for online courses are required to complete campus-wide requirements for first-time TAs if they have not done so already.  Instructors are responsible for directing first time TAs to “First-Time TA Requirements” and how and when to sign up for “Pedagogy Course for First-Time TAs” sections.  Details about these campus-wide requirements are found at: 

https://gsi.berkeley.edu/basics-for-gsis/first-time-requirements/

  • PH375A: TA Pedagogy Course – all first time TAs are required to enroll in and complete a pedagogy orientation course to learn teaching strategies and methods of their discipline and to support them throughout their first semester of teaching.
    • Grad Div requires that first–time TAs take the pedagogy course prior to or concurrently with their first appointment.  For this reason, OOMPH is unable to hire first–time TAs for Summer courses unless they have already completed PH375A, which is not offered in the Summer.
    • Important notes for OOMPH Students:
      • 375 courses can be used toward the MPH degree as an elective.  Students who do not wish to use the course toward their 42 total required degree units can request program fee waiver for taking a 375 course.  Please contact your Program Manager to make arrangements.
      • As of Academic Year 2024-25, BPH only plans to offer an online version of PH375A in the Fall semester.  OOMPH students who are interested in TA opportunities in the Spring or Summer terms should plan to enroll in PH375A in the previous Fall semester.
  • Teaching Conference: OOMPH students or other remote students who are unable to attend the in-person interactive theater session of the teaching conference should complete the postponement form.  Remote students will likely be asked to review a video instead.  Remote students, however, will need to take part in the synchronous Discipline-Cluster Workshop offered via Zoom and complete any other required asynchronous work.