Teaching Associate Program
Students who are enrolled in the English Department's M.A. program are invited to apply for a teaching associate position. TAs teach ENGL 134: Writing and Rhetoric, a required course for incoming students. They teach one course per quarter (usually for three quarters) during their second year of graduate coursework. Previous teaching experience, while important, is not required. TAs receive a great deal of instruction and training before entering a ENGL 134 classroom.
TAs take their work with student writers very seriously, and often consider it to be one of the most rewarding experiences in the Graduate Program. Past TAs have accepted teaching positions at community colleges and high schools. A number of them have also been accepted to top-tier doctoral programs in Rhetoric and Composition.
If you would like more detailed information about life as a TA at Cal Poly or if you are simply trying to decide if you should apply, read some impressions of past and present TAs.
