Some offers of admissions from the CS department promise a certain number of years of support. These offers are typically contingent on satisfactory progress towards a degree and adequate performance in assigned tasks. The source of the funding is usually specified in the admittance letter. For example, a student may be awarded an AI position from the CS department, a research assistantship from a particular professor in the department, or a scholarship from the School of Informatics or the University. The source of the funding may however change during the promised years of support. In other words, assuming the student is making satisfactory progress, the department is promising a certain number of years of support regardless of the source of funding for that support.

Associate Instructorships

Associate Instructorships (usually called "teaching assistantships" at other universities) are the primary means that the department has to support new graduate students and many continuing students as well. Each year between 3 and 25 new positions are available.

The position of Associate Instructor (AI) involves a variety of duties in support of the instructional mission of the department. These duties may include leading discussion sections, supervising laboratories, consulting with students, and grading. Occasionally an advanced AI is given complete instructional responsibility for a course, possibly even including the assistance of another AI. Typically an AI is a half-time position and the figures below are based on that.

For new student applicants there is no separate procedure for applying for an Associate Instructorship. The only step is to check on your application for admission that you wish to be considered for financial aid. Do not contact faculty or staff in an attempt to further your case for an AIship. If you feel that you have unusual qualifications for an AIship, be sure to submit it with your application for admission and aid. In particular, letters from former or current teaching supervisors are valuable, and your statement of purpose in the application is a suitable place for describing any teaching experience.

Students are considered to have had their full term of departmental financial aid when they have been enrolled in courses whose successful completion would satisfy their degree requirements, regardless of their performance in those courses. Unsatisfactory grades or leaving a course incomplete does not extend the term of financial aid beyond the term that would have applied if the course had been completed successfully.

Benefits

For the 2007-2008 academic year, a typical half-time (20-hours-per-week) associate instructorship carries a 9-month stipend of $13,724 plus a fee remission which pays for all fees except some non-remittable fees required by the State of Indiana. Those non-remittable fees in 2007-2008 are $700 per semester (based on 12 credit hours) and are paid by all students. The fee remission is based on 30 credit hours: 12 credit hours in the Fall, 12 credit hours in the Spring, and 6 credit hours in the Summer. (Enrollment during the Summer is not required; however the fee remission is available to you if you choose to use it.)

Conditions of Employment

In our department, a teaching assistant ordinarily assists with one course per semester. Depending upon your assignment, duties may involve teaching, research, or system support. An initial Associate Instructor appointment is typically for two years, contingent upon satisfactory academic progress. This is ample time to complete an MS, and for PhD students to show significant progress towards the degree by completing the written qualifying exams. Note that entering PhD students are encouraged to take the written qualifying exams the week before starting their first semester, and in any case must take them by the end of the first year. For PhD students in good standing and making timely progress, continued support is usually available. All associate instructors are required to report for scheduling, assignments, and preliminary tasks a week before classes begin each semester, and are expected to be available until the end of the semester. Exceptions require the prior approval of the Chair of the Department.

For International Students

When new students arrive, they are given the Test of English Proficiency for International Associate Instructor Candidates (TEPAIC), primarily a test of ability to speak English and understand spoken English. Graduate students successfully passing this test are hired as a teaching assistant; if not, they become graduate assistants. A graduate assistant may grade papers and develop course materials but may not have direct contact with students. When the TEPAIC is successfully passed the title becomes assistant instructor, in which case the assignment may include classroom and laboratory instruction and consulting with students, as well as grading and course preparation. International students who fail the TEPAIC are required to take it each time it is offered; failure to pass it during the first year can lead to the assistantship contract being abrogated. Support during the second year is also contingent on satisfactory progress toward a degree during the first semester, and adequate performance in assigned assistantship tasks.

Like all international students, graduate students will also be required to take the Indiana English Proficiency Examination upon arrival at IU. If a graduate student's performance on this examination is not satisfactory, that student may be required to take remedial courses in English in addition to their regular course load. Details on this examination will be available during international student orientation and registration.

Research Assistantships

Research assistantships (RAs) are available through research grants and contracts awarded by external agencies to individual computer science professors. Hiring decisions about RAs are made by the professors directing the research, not by the department. It is extremely rare for professors to support first-year graduate students on entry, and typically professors want students to first prove their abilities in a course taught by the professor, completing the written qualifying exams, or other means.

The sources of funding in the department include: National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, the Lilly Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Office of Science of the Department of Energy, and other agencies and companies.

Diversity-Building Graduate Fellowships

Chancellor's Minority Fellowships. The University offers a limited number of Chancellor's Minority Fellowships to entering graduate minority students intending to pursue a doctoral degree. These consist of a multi-year financial aid package with an annual stipend, plus tuition and health insurance. The fellowships are competitive among departments at the University, and the Computer Science Department submits candidates to a university-wide committee which then determines to whom offers may be made. Beyond academic excellence, criteria considered include a close match between the student's research interests and individual faculty in the department, and the potential to recruit students who might not normally consider IU for graduate studies. To be considered, you must submit an Indiana University Application Form for Admission and Financial Aid by January 15 (December 1 for international applicants). If the department nominates you, you may be contacted for further information by a faculty member to identify potential matches with the department's areas of research.
Graduate Women in Science Fellowships. Graduate Women in Science Fellowships are offered to entering women graduate students who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in a field of science or mathematics. The fellowship consists of a multi-year financial aid package with an annual stipend, plus tuition and health insurance. To be considered for a Women in Science Graduate Fellowship, you must submit an Indiana University Application Form for Admission and Financial Aid by January 15 (December 1 for international applicants).

Other diversity-building fellowships include the Graduate Scholars Fellowship, the McNair Graduate Fellowship, and the Educational Opportunity Fellowship

Continuing Support for Existing Students

Each semester the graduate secretary or Director of Educational Development will request current students to respond if they wish to become or remain an associate instructor for the next semester. This request is posted on the Graduate Student Web Board, the venue for official messages. Because students often find support from other sources, all students, including those still within their years of guaranteed aid, must reply to this request to have their teaching contract continued.

Students who currently do not have aid but request it will be placed on the departmental waitlist. The waitlist is not a FIFO queue, because appointments are based on the skills required for a given course, the background of the students on the waitlist, past teaching quality, and the likelihood of completing a degree with the aid.

Typically the department makes all offers that it is authorized to make early in the preceding semester. After that, no further offers can be made until the School of Informatics authorizes them, which typically is the week before or even during the first two weeks of the target semester, when course enrollments are known. We cannot predict the number of positions that will be available, but do offer appointments as soon as that information is known.

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Last Modified: Sep 17, 2007 9:54am

IU Computer Science Department
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