Employment

Graduate students may apply through our department for paid employment as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA). PhD students who have successfully completed comprehensive exams may also be considered for sessional lecturer appointments.

TAs and RAs are not necessarily governed by the same processes. Individual faculty members with external research grants may employ graduate students as research assistants (RAs). The details of these appointments (salary, hours, etc.) are worked out between the individual graduate student and the faculty member. TAs are covered by a collective agreement between CUPE Local 4163 and UVic.

TA Positions: Spring Term 2024: 2024 01 (Jan-Apr).

TA Applications: due by November 24, 2023; Appointments will be finalized in late December or early January.

General Information:

The list of available TA positions is posted approximately three months before the start of each term, with an application deadline of four weeks before the start of classes.

Most Fall Term positions will be confirmed before the start of classes in September, however, some assignments may be made as late as the second week of classes. Spring Term positions will be finalized in early January.

A small number of positions are available in Summer Session; these are posted in early February and finalized in April.

What do TAs in Economics do?

Under the supervision of the course instructor, you may be asked to perform some or all of the following: hold weekly office hours to assist students with problems; prepare exams and assignments; grade assignments; assist with supervision of mid-terms and final exams; record grades; and assist the course instructor with other course-related tasks, such as preparation of course materials. Lab instructors also run computer or non-computer labs or tutorials, depending on the course. If you apply for a position as a lab instructor, you should be comfortable teaching in front of small groups of students (20-35).

How are TAs selected?

TAs at UVic are unionized, and our department follows the appointment guidelines in the CUPE 4163 Agreement (Article 13.02). To be eligible, students must be registered full-time and be on campus for the term of the TA appointment.

Selection decisions include:

  • The qualifications and ability of the candidate (s) based on academic merit and related experience
  • The career and / or pedagogical value that the experience in a particular position will provide the student
  • The student's preferences (as listed on the application form)
  • Other sources of graduate student financial support being received

Priority in hiring goes first to graduate students registered in the Department of Economics, following our Appointment Priority Policy .

All TAs must have a solid background in the related subject (unless specified otherwise), and a good command of spoken and written English is essential.

Note: The University of Victoria is an equity employer and encourages applications from women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples, people of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of the university.

What is the rate of pay?

Salary rates for teaching assistants are listed on the Human Resources department website ( CUPE 4163, Component 1 ).

How many hours do TAs work?

140 hours per term is normally the maximum number of hours that will be assigned to each TA. The actual number of hours worked per week varies by course and term.

What TA Positions are available?

Check the list of positions available for the next term before you complete your TA application and remember to send in your application by the posted deadline. Any applications received after this date will lose their priority ranking and may not be assigned a position.

How do I apply for a TA job?

Fillable pdf TA applications are available on our website and can be emailed to  or mailed to:

Administrative Officer
Department of Economics (BEC 360)
University of Victoria
PO Box 1700 STN CSC
Victoria BC, V8W 2Y2

I'm a new Economics grad student and my admission offer included a TA position; why do I have to send you an application?

Sending us an application form confirms that you do want a TA job. It also gives you the chance to list your course preferences so we can consider them when assignments are made.

Current graduate students are advised to contact individual faculty members directly to inquire about opportunities in their area of research.

PhD students interested in being considered for teaching positions in our department can check the posting of available sessional lecturer positions.

Normally students will be required to have advanced to candidacy to be considered, although exceptions are sometimes made based on previous teaching experience.

Positions for sessional lecturers are posted by May for Winter session and by January for Summer session.

Sessional lecturers are covered by a collective agreement between CUPE Local 4163 and UVic.