Instructional Support
Teaching support is vital to further the educational mission of Harvard College, providing educational instruction to undergraduates and graduate students while enabling a graduate student to develop teaching skills.
The Office of Undergraduate Education administers the Instructional Support Fund, which pays teaching fellows (TF) and teaching assistants (TA) in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
OUE expects departments to adhere to all GSAS policies on teaching fellow appointments, including those that give preference for teaching fellow appointments to students to whom a guarantee of teaching was offered at admission. After these students have been assigned, departments and course heads are expected to consider and prioritize all other qualified applicants from within GSAS.
Appointment Start and End Dates:
- Fall TF/TA appointments start on August 1 and end on December 31
- Spring TF/TA appointments start on January 1 and end on May 31
- Start Date Tip Sheet: a guide to help administrators determine start dates
Section Allocation Tool
Each spring, departments make requests for course discussion and lab sections for the upcoming academic year in the OUE’s online Section Allocation Tool (SAT). OUE makes preliminary section allocations based on historical and estimated enrollment data, and FAS target section sizes—which vary depending on the type of course. Final section allocations are contingent on actual enrollment numbers.
Meetings & Trainings
The OUE Instructional Support group hosts periodic training sessions for the Section Allocation Tool, as well as occasional group discussions about the allocation process. We will post notices, agendas, and handouts from those meetings on the Instructional Support Sharepoint site.
Visit the Instructional Support site (HarvardKey login required)
Instructional Meeting Fund
As part of the Instructional Support Fund, OUE administers the Instructional Meeting Fund (previously the Instructional Lunch Fund), which supports regular meetings between course heads and teaching fellows or assistants.
Read the Instructional Meeting Fund policies (HarvardKey login required)
Communications
Did you miss an Instructional Support message from us, or are you looking for those allocation and appointment instructions that we sent a couple of weeks ago? Please visit our Sharepoint site for previous mailings and instructional support resources.
Resources for Departments appointing TFs/TAs
- Appointment Schedule for academic year 2023-24: a schedule of deadlines and dates related to TF/TA appointments
- Pay Rates: TF/TA pay rates for academic year 2024-25
- GSAS TF Policies: eligibility, expectations, restrictions, and pay
- I-9 procedures and guidance: Memo to Faculty about I-9 Policy (2017)
- Offer Letter Samples: HGSU Appointment letter template and Sample Preliminary Offer Letter for TAs
- Central Application for Teaching Sections (CATS): a tool academic departments use to make TF opportunities visible to graduate students
- FAS Teaching Fellow Welcome Guide: an overview of resources available at the Registrar’s Office
- Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning: various opportunities for Harvard graduate students
Reasonable Accommodation Statement.
Harvard University is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation(s) for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.
To request reasonable accommodation(s), Teaching Fellows and Teaching Fellow candidates should contact University Disability Resources. University Disability Resources can also be reached at 617-495-1859/TTY: 617-496-0466. For more information regarding this process, please refer to the Reasonable Accommodation Fact Sheet.
To request reasonable accommodation(s), Course Assistants and Course Assistant candidates should contact University Disability Resources. University Disability Resources can also be reached at 617-495-1859/TTY: 617-496-0466. For more information regarding this process, please refer to the Reasonable Accommodation Fact Sheet.
To request reasonable accommodation(s), Teaching Assistants and Teaching Assistant candidates should contact Faculty Affairs. For more information regarding this process, please refer to the Reasonable Accommodation Fact Sheet.
Glossary of Terms
Teaching Fellows (TFs)
Teaching Fellow (TF)A TF is a Harvard graduate student who—as part of their education—assists a faculty member with course instruction. Information on the expectations for and responsibilities of TFs can be found on the GSAS website.
Teaching Assistants (TAs)
A TA is a non-Harvard graduate student who may perform similar duties to a TF. In certain instances, a TA may be hired to join the teaching staff for a course; information on the expectations for and responsibilities of TAs can be found in the FAS Appointment and Promotion Handbook.
TFs/TAs in General Education Courses
The Program in General Education makes its section allocations and teaching appointments separately from OUE.
Undergraduate Course Assistants (CAs)
Undergraduate student instructional support staff are only hired as Course Assistants. Note that this role is governed by Faculty legislation.
Bok Pedagogy Fellows
Bok Pedagogy Fellows support TF training in departments. Pedagogy Fellows collaborate with faculty, administration, and the Bok Center’s senior staff to enhance training and support or teaching fellows within their departments and across the FAS. Please visit the Bok Center website for more information.
Bok Center Media and Design Fellows
Bok Center Media and Design Fellows support innovative course development within the FAS, partnering with faculty and staff to design a variety of digital tools, course materials, and assignments for undergraduate courses and departments. Departments, as well as individual courses, can request support from a Media and Design Fellow. Most appointments will span the full academic year, allowing Fellows to develop technical expertise, create course materials and digital resources for an upcoming semester, and support the implementation of new activities. Fellows will be paid hourly. Visit the Bok Center website for more information about the program and about how to apply.
Departmental Writing Fellows
Departmental Writing Fellows provide discipline-specific writing advice and support for students in departments as they navigate their concentrations. The primary responsibility of each DWF is to work one-on-one with students on writing assignments for departmental courses. DWFs work directly with the Writing Program to implement programming over the course of the year, and candidates for the position are nominated by the department. This is typically a year-long appointment (beginning in fall) If your department would like to learn more, please contact James Herron, Director of the Harvard Writing Project (jherron@fas.harvard.edu)