Tips for Finding Student Employment in CAEE

  • CAEE students are usually given preference over non-CAEE students.
  • Each faculty member in CAEE makes the hiring decisions for their own course or research project.
  • The CAEE Department does not have an official application form. (Areas/centers, however, may have their own forms.)
  • Relatively few undergraduate jobs are available, so there is more competition.
  • End of semester/beginning of semester is usually the best time to ask around.
  • Paperwork/processing of research related appointments is handled by the research center staff.
  • Paperwork/processing of academic appointments (TA, graders) is handled by the Dept., ECJ 4.2.

Typical appointment titles:

  • Undergraduate students may be appointed an undergraduate research assistant (UGRA) or an Undergraduate Assistant (grader) or a combination of these.
  • Graduate students may be appointed as a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA), a Graduate Assistant (grader) or a Teaching Assistant (TA) or a combination of these.

Qualifications for various titles:

  • Undergraduates must be registered for at least 14 hrs. (F/Spr).
  • Graduates must be registered for at least 9 hrs. (F/Spr) and 3 (summer) with no incompletes.
  • Graduate students cannot be appointed more than 14 long semesters, regardless of the number of hours appointed.
  • UGRA positions do not usually require experience;
  • GRA positions usually require experience/education in a particular area of study
  • Graders may be undergraduate or graduate students and must have taken the course they are to grade and made an A or a B in that course. If coming from another university, faculty will make the determination whether or not a student is qualified. Most undergraduate classes have graders.
  • TAs must be graduate students who have already taken the course. International students must take the International TA English certification assessment or else qualify for exemption. See http://www.utexas.edu/student/esl/

Suggested Steps to Find Student Research Employment:

For research positions:

  1. Contact your faculty advisor or a faculty that knows you and ask if there are any positions.
  2. Contact the Centers (see list of centers on the back) to see if any faculty need help on a project.
  3. Contact individual faculty to see if they need help on a project.

For grading positions:

  1. Check the course schedule and see which classes are being offered that you have taken and then contact the faculty teaching the course. Almost all of the undergraduate courses have graders.

Occasionally, a graduate level course gets a grader, if funding is available.

For TA positions(graduate students only):

  1. Check the course schedule or on-line http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/schedules/ and notice which classes have scheduled labs. Those classes will have a TA. Contact the faculty teaching the course.
  2. Contact your faculty advisor or a faculty that knows you and ask if there are any positions.
  3. Check bulletin boards in the various areas (located close to area offices, usually) and outside ECJ 4.2. Often, faculty will post a sign if they need a TA.

Strongly advise that you do NOT SPAM faculty or staff with your resume!!!!