Teaching Requirements

EPS Graduate Student Teaching Requirements

Summary:

EPS graduate students should meet both the financial and teaching requirements listed below prior to graduation. These requirements may be met by teaching a minimum of two sections.

• Financial Requirement: Each EPS graduate student must teach at least two sections as a TF. Graduate students will not see a change in their paycheck during the first two sections they teach. Beginning with the third section, they may receive additional pay for teaching.
• Teaching Requirement: Each EPS graduate student must teach at least two courses (either one section each of two different courses or two sections of the same course in two different years).

Additionally, graduate students must participate in teaching training.

• Training Requirement: Before teaching in EPS, graduate students must attend and participate in either:
  • First-time Teaching Fellow Training Seminar offered in EPS (usually offered just prior to the start of each semester) or
  • Recommended workshops offered by the Bok Center just prior to the start of the teaching assignment. (Preceptors will recommend the workshops that should be attended to ensure the student receives sufficient training prior to teaching.)

(from the EPS Graduate Student Handbook)

All PhD students are required to serve as teaching fellows for at least two sections during their time at Harvard. The two sections should be for two different courses or for the same course in two different years. This requirement ensures that all students have at least some exposure to classroom or laboratory interactions with undergraduates, as teaching will likely be an important aspect of any future career. First-year students may not teach in their first term but may serve as teaching fellows in the second term when the course material is useful for their own professional training (generally not General Education or introductory classes).

Many students teach more than the minimum requirement. In some cases, this additional teaching provides necessary financial support for their research if research grants or fellowships are not available. However, to ensure that teaching does not prohibit satisfactory progress, students are required to petition the GSC if they wish to teach more than two sections in a single academic year. After meeting the two-course teaching requirement, students are paid a higher rate when teaching (about an additional one months’ stipend paid over the teaching term). Teaching two sections of one course in a given term merits the financial teaching benefits but does not satisfy the academic teaching requirements. Under special circumstances, students may petition the GSC to keep the full stipend while teaching the two required sections or after they have fulfilled the minimum requirement. If a student has received an outside fellowship that permits additional support, he or she may keep the stipend from teaching in addition to the fellowship—even if it is while teaching the two required sections.

Students are required to consult with their faculty advisor regarding when and which courses they should teach, in order to maximize the benefit to their education and training and make sure teaching does not interfere with their dissertation work. Students are also required to attend teacher training such as an EPS micro-teaching workshop or a Bok Center Teaching Conference (offered at the start of each term) prior to teaching their first class. Students for whom English is their second language may want also to contact the Bok Center to discuss which resources (available year-round) would help them become effective teachers. Students should obtain their faculty advisor’s approval before undertaking outside work.