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Graduate Appointments in Mathematics
There are three forms of graduate appointments that are available in this department, namely Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and Fellowships. Teaching Assistantships are the principal form of graduate support. Research Assistantships are available on an irregular basis through the Research Board or through individual faculty research grants from outside funding agencies. Fellowships come from a variety of sources including national programs, university-wide programs and departmental sources.
Holders of assistantships and fellowships are not automatically reappointed from year to year. Reappointment decisions are based upon certain minimum progress requirements.
The Mathematics Department normally does not have teaching assistantships or other forms of financial aid available for master's degree students except as needs arise.
Teaching Assistantships
Teaching duties in the department fall into four categories:
Standalone Classes. Standalone classes give the TA full responsibility (subject to the approval of a supervisor) over all aspects of a class, from lecture preparation and delivery to the creation and grading of assignments and exams and the assignment of grades. Only experienced TAs are assigned to such classes. Most standalone classes meet three times a week for one hour at a time. For each contact hour it is assumed that three to four hours a week are required to account for lecture preparation, office hours, and quiz and exam preparation. Moreover, up to five hours a week are assumed spent in grading.Discussion Sections. In discussion sections of the calculus sequence TAs may be required to do small amounts of teaching but their principal responsibility is to answer student questions and provide guidance with homework assignments. In addition they are responsible for the grading of quizzes and exams designed by the main lecturer. Appointment to a single discussion section is a 25% appointment. Discussion sections meet twice a week for one hour at a time and three hours a week are dedicated to preparation. Moreover, up to five hours a week are assumed spent in grading.
Grading Papers. Many of our courses have graders assigned to assist the lecturer in grading homework and exams. A typical grading assignment is for 5 hours a week, which includes one hour of prep work. This is a 12.5% appointment.
Tutoring Service. The department offers free tutoring service in the evenings for its calculus sequence and some other courses. TAs are typically used to staff the tutoring rooms. An assignment to the tutoring room two hours a day for four days a week is considered a 25% appointment.
Teaching assistants (TAs) are typically appointed at the 50% level, but appointments are possible at 37.5%, 25% or even 12.5%. Appointments at less than 50% are often made in combination with research assistantships and/or fellowships.
A 50% teaching assistantship can take a variety of forms in terms of the four categories above. Some examples are:
- a standalone three hour a week class
- a standalone two hour a week class (37.5%) and a grading assignment (12.5%)
- two discussion sections in the calculus sequence (25% each)
- tutoring room duties (25%) and two grading assignments (12.5% each)
- four grading assignments (12.5% each)
The day-to-day management of the teaching assistantship program in the department is under the supervision of the Associate Chair, Professor Robert Muncaster, and all questions and problems relating to teaching duties should be directed to him.
Assistants and fellowship holders with appointments ranging from 25% to 67% are exempt from paying tuition and service fees, but not the insurance and health center fees. For students holding such appointments in the Spring semester, the exemption extends through the summer session. Recipients of assistantships must be registered full-time during the term of employment.
While this department has a summer school program, only a few teaching assistantships are available for the summer session. Students receiving a summer school assistantship are not required to be registered for classes during the summer school term.
An orientation program for new assistants is held each year during the week before the beginning of classes in the Fall. New assistants are not given classroom teaching assignments until they have gone through this orientation program. This program is required of all new teaching assistants.
In addition to participating in the department's orientation program, International TAs must attend a campus orientation organized by the Center for Teaching Excellence before they will be permitted to teach. Teaching assistants who have not passed the SPEAK test are not allowed to perform duties that involve contact with students and therefore are assigned only grading duties.
Research Assistantships
Graduate Research Assistantships are funded by the Research Board or by other research grants to support research. Such appointments are generally available only to advanced students working with a faculty member. The application for a research assistantship is made by the faculty member.
Fellowships
Various fellowships can be awarded by the Department of Mathematics on the basis of excellence in mathematics.
Fellowships awarded by the Department of Mathematics include the following. A more comprehensive list of fellowship opportunities can be found on the Graduate College website at https://www.grad.uiuc.edu/Fellowship/.
University Fellowships. No restrictions.
University Distinguished Fellowships. No restrictions. These are awarded by the university through a university-wide competition with at most 3 to any department.
Dissertation Completion Fellowships. These are awarded by the university through a university-wide competition with at most 3 to any department.
Graduate College Fellowship for Underrepresented Students. The purpose of these awards is to strengthen the institution and its programs by increasing the enrollment of outstanding students from populations that have been historically underrepresented in graduate study. Awards are limited to students in their first year of study.
Named Fellowships (Trjitzinsky, Bourgain, Schark, Hohn-Nash, Hogan, Parker, Bateman, Healey). Open to all students, with some restrictions on subject area.
Lackner Fellowship. For female Ph.D. students of Czechoslovakian descent.
Usually about ten percent of the students in mathematics hold fellowships. New students are considered automatically when they apply for admission. Continuing students must make a special application each year. Fellowships are awarded on the basis of all information that is known about each student under consideration; but the most common and obvious data consists of transcripts (both undergraduate and graduate), letters of reference, the application for graduate appointment, and GRE scores. Students should request that any pertinent information be added to their fellowship files. For example, copies of published papers, outlines of talks given at professional meetings, and any other information casting light on the student's academic excellence should be added to the file.
Progress Required for Reappointment
Financial support after the first year is based upon the student's level of performance in two areas: progress toward a specific degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) and performance of assistantship duties. Minimal performance in the two areas is described below. Ordinarily the department will reappoint as half time assistants most of those who meet these requirements.A student who does not meet the minimal requirements will be appointed or reappointed only in exceptional circumstances. Furthermore, meeting the minimal requirements does not in itself guarantee appointment or reappointment. Financial constraints or the need to support some newly entering students may affect the level of reappointments. The Director of Graduate Studies makes the appointment and reappointment decisions; he should be consulted by any student who needs more information.
Minimal Progress Towards a Degree
The Director of Graduate Studies, together with the Graduate Review Committee (see 6.6 below), is responsible for evaluating each student's progress toward a degree. Minimal progress toward a degree requires that a student complete at least eight hours of credit each semester and twenty hours each calendar year, while maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 for Master's degree candidates or 3.25 for Ph.D. degree candidates. Repeated failure to meet these requirements is cause for dismissal from the Mathematics Graduate Program.For Master's candidates these are the only requirements for minimal progress toward a degree.
For Ph.D. candidates minimal progress involves more than just credits earned and grade point average. All Ph.D. candidates are expected to adhere to the following timetable. In particular, teaching assistantship reappointments are dependent on it. For students who begin in a fall semester, performance will be evaluated in February of each year.
| Year | Requirement |
| 1 | At least 2 core courses with B+ or better, and at least one comp exam. |
| 2 | All comp and proficiency requirements (by August of year 3). |
| 3 | Selection of a thesis area and advisor and at least one language exam. |
| 4 | Prelim and significant progress towards thesis results and second language exam. |
| 5 | Clear evidence of satisfactory progress on a thesis, including a letter from the student's thesis advisor giving an expected date of completion. |
| 6 | Only in cases where there is a strong likelihood of completion of a thesis in progress will a student be reappointed for a seventh year or for the summer following the sixth year. |
The minimal progress conditions stated above presume that students are entering with a Bachelor's degree and receiving support primarily through assistantships. Students having previous graduate training or other financial support may be expected to make faster progress. These conditions do not describe normal progress toward the doctoral degree; they describe the slowest permissible progress for students who are candidates for a Ph.D. degree who request departmental support.
Minimal Performance of Assistantship Duties
The Associate Chair is responsible for evaluating the performance of assistantship duties. A student has satisfied the minimal performance requirement if he or she:- has taught previously and, in the most recent semester of teaching, has been judged to have performed acceptably; or
- has completed the departmental teaching orientation and has been judged ready to teach but has been assigned other duties which have been performed acceptably; or
- has performed non-teaching duties acceptably, is not a native speaker of English, and is applying for reappointment for a second year of support.
It is expected that the small number of students who enter with a substandard TSE score will repair their deficiencies within one year. Such students who have not been judged ready to teach after one year, and students who are unable to perform assistantship duties through prolonged illness or for other reasons, may be given quarter time reappointments.
The normal deadline for fulfilling reappointment conditions for the Fall semester is the previous February. Students who fulfill their conditions after this date may be reappointed if funds are available and openings exist, but reappointment in such cases is not guaranteed.
Graduate Teacher Certificates
All Illinois graduate students who are or have been teaching assistants for at least two semesters on this campus are eligible to apply for the Graduate Teacher Certificate (GTC) and the Advanced Graduate Teacher Certificate (AGTC). These certificate programs help students improve and better document their teaching and are awarded every spring semester. This program is a joint effort between the Division of Instructional Development (DID) in the Office of Instructional Resources and the Graduate College. For optimal benefit and efficiency, graduate teachers are encouraged to apply for the GTC as they begin their teaching assistantship on campus, but may actually apply at any time. More information is available on-line at www.cte.uiuc.edu/Did/TAS/AGTC.htm. Applications for certification are to be made through DID by calling 333-3370, e-mailing GTC-AGTC@uiuc.edu, or by stopping by 249 Armory Building.| Department
of Mathematics 273 Altgeld Hall, MC-382 1409 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 USA Telephone: (217) 333-3350 Fax: (217) 333-9576 Email: office@math.uiuc.edu |
College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences Last modified July 2, 2008 |