The CSE 12x/14x TA application process for Winter 2025 occurs from Week 7 through finals week. CSE 12x/14x does not hire new TAs for summer quarters. The process is highly competitive and we welcome applicants to apply multiple times.
The application timeline and process is as follows:
During Weeks 7 and 8, applicants will first fill out a written application with some basic information and answers to short essay questions. Applicants are encouraged to highlight their teaching passion and interest in their personal statements. The strength of your essay will play a critical role in determining whether you move on to the next round, so please put time and effort into your responses.
When evaluating your essay, we are primarily focused on the content of the essay and hearing your personal voice. In contrast, we generally will not assess you on spelling and grammar. With that in mind, we ask that you do not use generative AI tools when writing or editing any part of your written application, even for spelling or grammar edits.
During Week 9, we will select a group of applicants to submit a 3-minute teaching video. In this video, each applicant will present the beginning of a lesson on a basic 12x/14x topic. More information will be provided to applicants through email.
During Week 10, we will invite some individuals to complete a 15-minute in-person interview on campus during finals week. Virtual interviews will not be accommodated. The interviews are conducted by our student TA Coordinators (experienced TAs who help run the program).
The interview consists of two parts: a microteach and an office hours simulation.
In the microteach, you will present a topic of your choice from CSE 12x/14x using a whiteboard and/or slide deck (you must bring your own device if you wish to present slides!), with a strict 5-minute limit. In the office hours simulation, you will demonstrate how you would assist a student through a linked list problem.
To be a TA you must have:
You also must be:
TAing is a serious time commitment. TAs work an average of 17-19.5 hours per week. The break down is as follows:
* All times listed above are in Pacific Time (PT). You can read more about mandatory TA duties here.
New TAs are required to participate in a weekly training program run by our undergraduate TA coordinators. The training sessions are held Thursdays from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. In addition, new TAs are required to attend a one hour "grading party" each week in which we discuss how to grade the current programming assignment. The grading party time will be chosen after the quarter starts to accomodate a time that all of the new TAs can attend.
TAs will be paid for attending the TA training and grading party.
Also, it is important to note that while every week you are given materials to teach from, it is expected that TAs are extremely knowledgeable about the course material as this will not be part of training.
The starting pay for new TAs is $21.57/hour. TAs will receive hourly rate increases based on the number of quarters of experience as a TA. For more information visit the Undergrad TA Salary page.
All TAs are protected by the UAW 4121 union (which protects all Student Academic Employees on all three UW campuses.) For more information visit their site at www.uaw4121.org.
