Assistantships

Every year, UVic employs many graduate students to assist with teaching, research and lab instruction.

Teaching assistants (TA)

Teaching assistants (TAs) are hired by their academic units to assist with teaching and grading courses. These are unionized, hourly positions.

There are two types of Research Assistantships at UVic both of which provide financial support to graduate students

Academic Research Assistantship (ARA) is a research assistantship provided to a graduate student by their academic supervisor in support of research activities that will comprise part of a student's degree requirements. The funds are paid to the student in the form of a stipend (similar to a scholarship/award) and are not considered employment income. Expectations of graduate students receiving ARA stipends should be articulated by the supervisor and based on good academic performance.
Employment-based Research Assistantship (ERA) is a research assistantship provided to a graduate student by a faculty member who may or may not be their academic supervisor, to conduct work (research) for the faculty member. The research done does not comprise part of the student's academic degree requirements. ERA payments are employment income and subject to statutory witholding. Payment is normally made via timesheet submission through UVic payroll. Expectations of graduate students hired in an ERA agreement must be clearly articulated by the faculty member and comply with BC Employment Standards.

Learning and Teaching Innovation (LTI) offers useful information, training and support for TAs.

Contact your graduate adviser or your supervisor for more information about TA and RA positions.