Research students are eligible to apply for teaching assistantships, which enable you to undertake a certain amount of teaching on undergraduate programmes. They provide a welcome additional source of income while also broadening your academic experience. You can get details of the assistantships when you speak to the PGTA coordinator in your School.
You can also supplement your income by acting as a demonstrator, or by engaging in tutorial or marking work. Again, your research supervisor can provide further details on these opportunities.
All Postgraduate Teaching Assistants and undergraduates involved in academic support must receive appropriate training and support for the duties they are required to perform. This includes attending generic training provided centrally by the Higher Education Futures institute (HEFi) that is referred to as ‘Introduction to Learning and Teaching in Higher Education for Postgraduates’.
The Code of Practice on Teaching and Academic Support provided by Registered Students and accompanying guidance document sets out the procedures to be followed in relation to Postgraduate Teaching Assistants. The Code of Practice is cohort-specific and can be accessed on the Codes of Practice webpage.
The Code of Practice explains the teaching hours of a full time Registered Student shall not exceed fifteen hours per week, excluding approved holiday periods, unless a sponsoring Research Council specifies a lower limit. Training, preparation and marking time should be included in this fifteen hour period. The weekly maximum may be redistributed across the academic year with the prior agreement of the student concerned. This restriction does not apply to research students in writing up period.