General:

As is the case in most physics departments at American universities, the University of Notre Dame provides the department with a number of stipends for the support of teaching assistants (TAs). TAs are an essential part of graduate education in the United States. Teaching assistantships fulfill many important needs:

1. They provide financial support to graduate students, giving them the opportunity to study and do research in physics at rhe graduate level.
2. They provide TAs valuable experience in front of a classroom, training which is useful for those who plan to teach after graduation. Teaching is also useful experience for future research presentations at conferences or meetings.
3. They aid the faculty in the teaching of courses, allowing them more time to concentrate on the creation and prepartion of lecture or other material for their assigned courses.
4. They give undergraduate students some options of of who to go to for answering questions.
5. They provide a link between undergraduates and graduate students in the department, helping both groups to understand the other better.

This web site is intended for TAs and instructors in the Department of Physics. The following gives more information on the role of TAs and their instructors, with the information in each section being addressed to a particular group. It is recommended that TAs and instructors both read each other's section.

In the future, information will also be provided on this web site related to TA training and development. Please address comments and suggestions on this web site to Prof. Kathie Newman, Director of Graduate Studies.

For the TA

For the Instructor

Training of TAs