Teaching opportunities
All PGRs who wish to teach are expected to undertake some initial training, which prepares you to apply for a post as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or to undertake the teaching that is an intrinsic element of your sponsorship.
Leadership in Education Awards Programme (LEAP)
The Leadership in Education Awards Programme (LEAP) supports you in documenting and evidencing your teaching excellence, and is an opportunity for you to receive a formal, national qualification for your teaching. The programme is accredited by AdvanceHE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) and can award Associate, Fellowship, Senior and Principal HEA Fellowships.
You should discuss your plans to work as a Teaching Assistant with your supervisor. Vacancies for TAs will be advertised regularly; however, please note that the Faculty cannot guarantee to offer teaching to all who apply.
Applying for TA and marking opportunities
In order to become a teaching assistant or seminar leader you must first complete and application and be recruited to the Humanities TA pool. You will then be asked to complete the faculty training programme, a large component of which is online. This qualifies you to begin teaching, however, you are not guaranteed to be selected by the various Course Coordinators. It is important that you do not undertake any teaching or marking without receiving a letter of intent from your school. Without this you cannot receive payment.
A contract will be issued by HR Services within eight weeks of commencing duties. The contract will contain information about general terms and conditions and will make reference to the letter of intent.
The Humanities TA Hub provides details of the application process and gives access to all the documentation that you will require.
You must provide a signed Supervisors' Form to ensure you are eligible for the selection process, even if you have a bursary or you were registered as a TA during the previous academic year.
Hour limits
There are limits on the number of hours that you can teach whilst studying for your doctorate. For a Humanities full time PGR student, Schools will adhere to a Humanities maximum norm of 180 hours of duties for a TA per academic year. This limit of 180 hours is standard practice within Higher Education and is intended to ensure that PGR students have sufficient time to complete their PhD studies.
The 180 hours allocation will include preparation, attendance at lectures, teaching, marking, feedback and office hours as required by the discipline. Training is not normally included. The number of hours you teach will be monitored. Only in very exceptional circumstances will you be allowed to exceed your agreed teaching allowance, and only with prior agreement from the PGR Director.
Further information
More information and resources can be found on the Humanities TA hub: