Every year the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) hires a limited number of teaching assistants annually to help us deliver our courses. Teaching assistants are an integral part of our teaching community.
Please note that a separate application must be submitted for each course you are interested in. Completed applications should be submitted no later than April 30 at 11:59 pm PDT (April 18 at 11:59 pm PDT for Summer 2023 positions). Applications may be accepted after the deadline until all positions are filled but, other considerations being equal, candidates who applied before the deadline will be given preferred status.
Be advised that Teaching Assistants at The University of British Columbia (UBC) are represented by the Canadian Union Of Public Employees Local 2278 (CUPE2278) and that a Collective Agreement between UBC and CUPE2278 is in effect. All TAs are required to join the Union as a condition of employment. The collective agreement applies to all TA contracts, and selection of TAs will be done in accordance with the requirements of the Union.
Salaries are based upon CUPE 2278 and UBC rates.
UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply.
Deadline to Apply (2023W)
2023 summer and winter applications are open. 2023W applications are due by April 30, 2023 at 11:59 pm PDT. See below for link to apply.
A second round of Summer TAships are available: Apply here. Deadline to apply is May 7th at 11:59 pm. https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bmtxVhFWnnVROvQ
Mouse over the course name to see the desired qualifications for the TA.
New 2023 Summer TAs:
| BMEG 210 | 72h for each of 2 TAs over summer term |
| BMEG 457 | 72h for one TA over summer term 20h for one TA over summer term |
Application Instructions
Eligibility
Registration
- Applicants must be full-time students currently registered in a BASc, MEng, MASc or PhD program, or must have been unconditionally accepted to begin in September
- Students from other degree programs may be considered based on experience and suitability to the program (Cellular & Physiological Sciences students are preferred for BMEG 410/510).
- Must be a full-time, registered student during the period of their TA appointment. If you will be defending your thesis or completing your program before the end of the term you are not eligible to be a TA for that term.
- Cannot be on leave from their graduate program.
- Must hold an active study permit and SIN for the entirety of their TA appointment at the time of their application.
Competencies
- Mastery of the course academic material and subject matter.
- Ability to help students learn actively, and explain course content in a clear and logical manner.
- Have an understanding of and will agree to comply with WorkSafe BC, UBC and Departmental Safety Regulations.
- Possess excellent oral and written English communication skills.
Supervisor Approval
- Applicants must have the approval of their Research or Program Supervisor to engage in an employment contract in addition to their academic program.
- Your supervisor must be made aware of your intent to apply to TA positions and must approve of the total number of hours (especially for students that would like to accept multiple positions).
Additional Requirements
- Must be available to complete the mandatory departmental safety and TA training, as well as the appropriate site-specific lab orientations, before the start of term. Please see training dates listed in the above section.
- If you cannot follow the naming conventions required for the CV upload and Safety uploads, your application will not be considered. Please ensure that you follow the instructions for each upload or your application will be discarded.
All candidates wishing to be considered for a Teaching Assistant position will need to submit a new application for each course they wish to TA. Although we appreciate the interest of all applicants, only the successful candidates will be contacted with further details.
Types of Duties
Although the precise duties will vary depending on the course for which an offer/appointment is made, in general TAs can expect to perform the following duties:
- Laboratory Assistance – providing instruction, guidance, and supervision for laboratory experiments, maintaining a safe and professional laboratory, assisting students with troubleshooting equipment, ensuring laboratory equipment and supplies are used appropriately and put away at the end of each session, marking of laboratory reports.
- Tutorial Assistance – assisting in or leading tutorial sessions, marking of assignments, preparing written solutions, reviewing of assignments with undergraduates.
- Marking – marking of assignments.
- Invigilation of Exams (Mandatory) – is required. All TAs must be available for the full exam period of the term in which they are hired as a TA. TAs may be assigned to invigilate course(s) other those for which they TA.
- Training (Mandatory) – New TAs and returning TAs who has not yet completed the training must participate in the TA training program and safety orientation. The training is designed to help ensure that TAs are as successful as possible in their roles and properly oriented to our teaching labs/spaces. More information on training will be provided with your offer letter.
Courses
Mouse over the course name to see the course description and the desired qualifications for the TA (where available) .
2023 Summer TAs:
| BMEG 200 | 48h for 1 TA over one term |
| BMEG 400A | 60h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 400H | 80h for one TA over one term 90h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 500/501 | 55h for each of two TAs over one term |
2023 Winter TAs:
| BMEG 101 | 72h for each of two TAs over one term |
| BMEG 102 | 72h for each of three TAs over one term |
| BMEG 201 | 60h for each of three TAs over one term |
| BMEG 210 | 72h for each of two TAs over one term |
| BMEG 220 | 36h for two TAs over one term 80h for two TAs over one term |
| BMEG 230 | 96h for each of four TAs over one term |
| BMEG 245 | 72h for each of six TAs over one term |
| BMEG 250 | 72h for each of three TAs over one term |
| BMEG 257 | 72h for each of four TAs over one term |
| BMEG 310 | 72h for each of five TAs over one term |
| BMEG 320 | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 321 | 80h for each of five TAs over one term 60h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 330 | 48h for two TAs over one term |
| BMEG 350 | 48h for each of two TAs over one term |
| BMEG 357 | 72h for each of five TAs over one term |
| BMEG 371 | 72h for each of two TAs over one term |
| BMEG 372 | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 373 | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 374 * | 72h for each of five TAs over one term |
| BMEG 400B/591B | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 400C/591C | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 400D/591D | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 400E/591E | 102h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 400F | 139h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 400J/591J | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 402 | 60h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 410/510 | 100h for one TA over one term 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 455 | 72h for three TAs over one term |
| BMEG 456/556 | 125h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 457 | 36h for two TAs over two terms 72h for nine TAs over two terms |
| BMEG 470 | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 474 | 48h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 490 | 78h for one TA over two terms |
| BMEG 500/501 | 117h for each of two TAs over two terms |
| BMEG 511 | 25h for one TA over one term 20h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 550 | 55h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 557 | 15h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 580 | 72h for one TA over one term |
| BMEG 581 | 48h for two TAs over one term |
| BMEG 598 ** | 96h for one TA over two terms |
Course descriptions can be found on the UBC Calendar as well as in the mouseover captions in the table above.
* BMEG 374
This course will enable students to develop a proficiency in fundamental genetic, molecular, and tissue engineering techniques that will prepare them to work in the field of cellular bioengineering. Students will also gain experience designing experiments and tools related to these essential cellular bioengineering techniques.
Desirable skills/experience for the BMEG 374 TA includes some or all of:
- Culture and experience working with E coli
- Animal cell culture:
- Lab safety, aseptic technique
- Passaging and seeding/plating cells
- Cell viability
- Genetic engineering techniques:
- DNA/RNA isolation
- PCR, gel electrophoresis
- Molecular cloning including transformation/ transfection of cells
- Gene editing (i.e. CRISPR)
- Additional asset to have: Sequencing
- Protein engineering techniques:
- Isolation, quantification, separation
- Fluorescent tagging
- Proteomics
- Additional asset to have: Western blotting, immunoprecipitation, proximity-dependent labeling
** BMEG 598
BMEG 598 is a required course for all BMEG graduate students; therefore, to avoid a conflict of interest, the TA for this course must be a non-BMEG graduate student. Applicants from other departments are encouraged to apply.
Remuneration & Classification
Remuneration is at the standard hourly TA rates agreed upon with the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2278 (CUPE 2278).
- Senior Teaching Assistant (STA): $37.59 per hour (A Senior TA is a graduate student who is registered in a masters’ or doctoral program at the University of British Columbia and required by the University to perform lead hand duties as a Teaching Assistant. These duties typically include coordinating other Teaching Assistants and providing guidance, technical knowledge, and subject matter expertise to other Teaching Assistants.)
- Graduate Teaching Assistant 1 (GTA 1): $35.13 per hour (A GTA 1 is a graduate student who has completed two (2) years’ service as a graduate student teaching assistant.)
- Graduate Teaching Assistant 2 (GTA 2): $33.80 per hour (A GTA 2 is a graduate student with less than two (2) years’ service as a graduate student teaching assistant.)
- Undergraduate Teaching Assistant 1 (UTA 1): $22.77 per hour (A UTA 1 is an undergraduate student in a bachelors degree program at UBC who performs Teaching Assistant Duties with substantial student contact.)
- Undergraduate Teaching Assistant 2 (UTA 2): $20.33 per hour (A UTA 2 is an undergraduate student in a bachelors degree program at UBC who performs Teaching Assistant duties without substantial student contact.)
- Marker: $16.18 per hour (A Marker is an employee appointed to a position which involves only marking without substantial student contact.)
Evaluation Criteria
Applicants will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Mastery of the course academic material
- Ability to help students actively learn
- Ability to explain subject matter clearly and logically
- Ability to effectively lead discussion groups that facilitate student learning
- Ability to constructively evaluate student presentations
- Ability to effectively assists student learning by enabling different sets of skills, including oral and verbal communications, problem solving, critical thinking, numeracy, teamwork, leadership, planning
For the Summer 2023 position, we will be accepting applications until April 18, 2023 at 11:59 pm.
We will be accepting applications for 2023W until April 30, 2023 at 11:59pm PDT.
All candidates wishing to be considered for a Teaching Assistant position will need to submit a new application for each course they wish to TA. Although we appreciate the interest of all applicants, only the successful candidates will be contacted with further details during summer (typically June-August).