Graduate students are required to serve as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for at least one (1) semester as part of their professional development. The requirement may be met by an appointment in any campus department, however the student must notify the group. A typical GSI assignment is 20 hours per week (50% appointment) and provides part of the student’s stipend and fees during that period. If the student is being paid on an extramural fellowship, the GSI stipend may be paid in addition to the regular stipend.
To serve as a GSI at Berkeley, the student must:
- Enroll in Berkeley BioE 301 Teaching Techniques for Bioengineering, or equivalent before or during the year in which they serve as a GSI.
- Attend a Berkeley Teaching Conference for First-Time GSIs, held before each semester
- If International Student, attend a Berkeley Teaching Conference for First-Time International GSIs
- Complete of the Online GSI Professional Standards and Ethics Online Course
To serve as a TA at UCSF, the student must:
- Attend and complete the UCSF equivalent of a Teaching Conference and Ethics Course
For help in finding a a GSI position:
- Berkeley: watch for applications around May for the Fall semester, Oct/Nov for the Spring semester
- UCSF: Talk to SarahJane or directly with the professor
- USF: Lab-based courses available
Other Resources
- Further information for GSI-ing, compiled by Prof. Terry Johnson, with help from our own Elena Kassianidou. http://www.terrydjohnson.com/teaching
- Berkeley Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center: https://gsi.berkeley.edu/