Teaching Service Requirement

All doctoral program students must provide teaching service for the department in years 1, 2, 3, and 5.

Teaching Assistant & Graduate Assistant Policy

The Department of Cultural Anthropology regards teaching assistantships as an important part of graduate education. As a condition of their fellowship, students will serve as a TA or GA each semester they are receiving Duke/Cultural Anthropology support (excluding the year spent doing fieldwork). This includes "banked" funding (after fieldwork, compensation for an outside fellowship). While at Duke and on fellowship money, all students are expected to stay at Duke University until the end of undergraduate finals unless other arrangements are made with the professor. 

Expectations

The work of TAs is crucial for sustaining the quality of undergraduate course offerings in the department. TAs are expected to attend every class meeting and to complete all readings. At the same time, faculty supervisors bear responsibility for mentoring their teaching assistants in the process of becoming good teachers. Each faculty member using TAs should meet regularly during the semester with their TAs. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss grading and other practical matters as well as broader issues of teaching philosophy and strategy. Whenever possible, a TA will give a lecture and/or lead discussion at least one time during the semester. As part of faculty mentoring, the faculty member must attend the class led by the student and offer constructive feedback.

Assignments

The Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, makes TA assignments for each semester. The Director will endeavor to do so with as much advance warning as possible so that students can arrange the rest of their schedule accordingly. Normal TA duties should take up no more than 10 hours a week on average during the semester. Time attending class and doing class readings count as part of these hours. If faculty members expect TAs to do substantially fewer than 10 hours some weeks and more than 10 in others, they should discuss this with the student early in the semester.

Residency in the 5th Year

Beginning Jan 2023, all fifth-year graduate students are required to be in residence in Durham to serve as teaching assistants, graduate assistants, or to teach their own course, depending on department needs. Exemptions will only be considered for personal or family health issues, for uncontrollable interruptions to your fieldwork, or if one receives a competitive external grant (such as a Wenner-Gren, NSF, etc.). External grants will grant the student one additional semester in the field during the fall of their fifth year. Duke internal grants do not qualify for an exemption. If you seek exemption on the grounds specified above, you must petition your dissertation advisor and the DGS in the second semester of your fourth year.

Complaints

If complaints about TA-ing should arise on the part of either a TA or faculty member, they will be heard by the DGS and the chair of the department.