Teaching Mentors Call for Applications

2025 Call for Applications

The Graduate School invites experienced current and former Teaching Assistants to apply for the position of Teaching Mentor. The designation of Teaching Mentor signifies excellence in both teaching and graduate study and constitutes a notable academic and professional honor. We seek Teaching Mentors with a range of disciplinary backgrounds; fair representation in terms of nationality and gender is also critically important.

The responsibility of Teaching Mentors is to serve as the core instructional staff during the August Teaching Assistant Orientation Program. During the August orientation, the Teaching Mentors serve as session planners and presenters as well as small-group leaders and mentors to the University’s approximately 300 new Teaching Assistants. Teaching Mentors are paid a minimum hourly rate of $18.50 for this work. All interested graduate students are invited to attend one of the information meetings listed below to learn more about this opportunity. No pre-registration for these information sessions is necessary.

Teaching Mentor Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicants must have attended an All-University TA Orientation at Syracuse University.

2. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a graduate program and must be graduate students in good standing who are making satisfactory progress toward degree completion.

3. Applicants must attend one of the virtual Teaching Mentor information sessions, all of which will be hosted on Zoom.

Application forms will *only*  be available at these sessions

4. Applicants must be able to attend the following training and TA Orientation days per current academic calendar:

  • Friday, April 11, 2025  (time & place TBD)
  • Thursday, August 14, 2025 through Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Teaching Mentor Selection Criteria

  1. Applicants must have completed TA Orientation and demonstrated superior skills as a TA at Syracuse University.
  2. Because Teaching Mentors work closely with each other and new TAs during the August Orientation Program, applicants must have excellent interpersonal skills.

Applications, including a teaching portfolio, must be received by Monday, February 3, 2025. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Shawn Loner (scloner@syr.edu) in the Graduate School Programs office, 304 Lyman Hall.

Teaching Mentor Application Process

New Applicants

1) Applicants for a Teaching Mentor position are required to attend one of the information sessions listed above.

2) Applicants must submit the following materials in electronic form:

a) The completed application form (available only at the information meetings)

b) A letter from their department chair and/or director of graduate study giving departmental support and indicating that the applicant is making satisfactory progress towards their degree

c) A letter of nomination/recommendation from a faculty member from the applicant’s department or from the department with which the applicant has served as a TA (if different)

d) A teaching portfolio containing:

  • A personal statement/cover letter
  • A current CV
  • A statement of teaching philosophy
  • Teaching materials (exams, quizzes, or assignments constructed by the applicant and syllabi for recitation sessions, labs, studios, or classes previously taught)
  • Copies and analyses of student, faculty, and/or peer evaluations
  • Reflective statements concerning these teaching experienced, materials, and evaluations
  • Any other materials (such as videos of class meetings or lectures) the applicant wishes the selection committee to examine.

All materials must be submitted electronically either as a PDF with appropriate tabulation or as part of a personal/professional portfolio website.  All materials can be sent to Shawn Loner at scloner@syr.edu.

An optional virtual Teaching Portfolio construction session is planned for Friay, January 24, 2025 from 3 – 4:30 pm.  More information concerning this session will be emailed out via the TA and FPP listervs.

3) Interviews of finalists will take place between mid-February and early March. Notification of awards will be in mid-March 2025.

New Applicant Deadline
Monday, February 3, 2025, by 5 pm, (materials must be electronic and sent to Shawn Loner at (scloner@syr.edu)

Applicants for Reappointment

Teaching Mentors applying for reappointment are required to:

1. Send a request for reappointment that includes a reflective statement concerning the importance of TA Orientation for new TAs

2. Submit a letter of support from the applicant’s department chair and/or director of graduate study

3. A brief CV (with updated contact information)

Reappointment Applicant Deadline
Monday, January 27, 2025, by 5 pm (materials must be electronic and sent to Shawn Loner at scloner@syr.edu)