Departmental Opportunities
The Mathematics department employs undergraduate students as Instructional Assistants in Reader and Tutor positions. Students interested in employment during the academic year should submit an application through one of the open campaigns..
Applications for Winter 2025 will open on November 1, 2024 - You can find the campaign for Winter 2025 Group Session Tutor HERE and the campaign for Winter 2025 Grader and MATLAB Tutor HERE. Initial review of applicants for Winter employment will begin in early December, 2024 after the campaign closes and the second pass of enrollment has begun — note that you may still apply after this date and will receive consideration if positions are available. Continuing employees with good evaluations are given priority in (re)assignment.
Readers (better known in Math as Graders) will work under the supervision of a course instructor or Teaching Assistant. They will evaluate course homework or quizzes and maintain an accurate and confidential record of student grades. Graders are also expected to communicate with professors/TAs on a regular basis to keep them aware of the workload and completion timelines and to give feedback on performance and assignments. Requirements for employment include current quarter enrollment, an overall GPA of 3.00 and a grade of ‘A’ in the course to be employed in (or higher level equivalent). Apply here for grader positions.
Single-Session Tutors (apply here) are employed for the MATLAB programming component of Math 18 and 20D. MATLAB Tutors provide drop-in zoom tutoring for students with questions about MATLAB programming. Under the supervision of the MATLAB TA, these tutors set regular hours to assist students with the weekly assignments in Linear Algebra and Differential Equations. Requirements for employment include current quarter enrollment, an overall GPA of 3.00 and grades of ‘A’ in both Math 18 and 20D.
Group-Session Tutors (apply here) will assist graduate Teaching Assistants in the promotion of engaged learning within lower-division discussion sections. Group-Session Tutors are embedded in specific sections of a course and will work directly with students, facilitating their understanding of concepts through the use of TA prepared worksheets. Group-Session Tutors will also hold regular office hours and assist in the grading of midterms and course finals as a regular member of the course instructional team. In addition to content knowledge, Group-Session Tutors must be effective and engaging communicators. Requirements for employment include current quarter enrollment, an overall GPA of 3.00 and a grade of ‘A’ in the course to be employed in (or higher level equivalent) and Math 109. Group-Session Tutors will be required to submit a short (3-minute) video of a presentation of a math topic from the following list:
For Consideration for Math 11 Employment, the Topic is
- "Explain how to find a confidence interval for a population mean, given the mean and standard deviation of a sample from the population"
For Consideration for Math 18 Employment, the Topics are
- "Define the inverse of a matrix and describe how to find it when it exists."
- "What are the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix? Give an example."
For Consideration for Calculus or Pre-Calculus Employment, the Topics are
- "State the definition of the derivative and interpret it geometrically."
- "Why does differentiable imply continuous, but not conversely?"
- "Explain the chain rule and give an example."
ASC@Math Tutors will assist students enrolled in Math 2 with the development of foundational math skills. The Academic Success Center at Mathematics (ASC@Math) is looking for supportive tutors with the ability to explain basic math concepts in a clear and engaging manner. Tutors must be patient and understanding when dealing with students with a range of mathematical ability. Communication skills are equally as, if not more important than, Math skills. Requirements for employment include current quarter enrollment, an overall GPA of 3.00 and high grades in Math 20A or 10B (or equivalent). ASC@Math Tutors will be required to submit a short (3-minute) video of a presentation of a math tutoring topic, selecting one of the two options from the following list:
- "A student has come to you and says they do not understand the addition of fractions. When you ask what is causing trouble, they can't identify the issue. Propose two or three reasons the student might be struggling and explain these using examples."
- "A student is studying linear equations (e.g., 2x + 1 = 15) and asks for a real world example of these that is relevant to their experience. Provide two different examples."
ASC@Math does not plan to hire any new tutors for Winter 2025.
For more information about these positions, email Mathematics Director of Student Services Scott Rollans at srollans@ucsd.edu.
Calculus Tutor Opportunities
Calculus tutoring positions are employed and managed by the Academic Achievement Hub (AAH) of the Teaching + Learning Commons (T+LC), you can find their qualifications and application on their website:
https://aah.ucsd.edu/content-tutoring/employment.html
Other Opportunities
Other academic student employment opportunities in mathematics may be available in the following programs:
Those programs are independent of the Department of Mathematics. Contact those programs directly for more information.
Please see the campus Academic Student Employment (ASE) Opportunities website for additional information concerning academic student employment.