GSI Positions

GSI Positions

The Statistics Department often has Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) positions available. Graduate students from other departments are encouraged to apply. We prefer students who have already served as a GSI in a quantitative subject, however, it is not required. For example, a graduate student in History or English who likes mathematics and did well in an undergraduate calculus course would still be considered for an appointment.

Applicants must meet Graduate Division’s Minimum Requirements and Criteria:

All Statistics GSI appointments are 50% time and include a partial fee remission. The average number of hours worked per week should not exceed 10 hours (25% appointment) or 20 hours (50% appointment) during the semester. If you find your work exceeds this limit, consult the instructor. If the problem is not resolved, contact the GSI Faculty Coordinator, Prof. Andrew Bray.

Visit the HR website for the current GSI Salary Rates and UAW contract for Academic Student Employees.

Applications are now being accepted for Summer 2024. We accept applications for the Fall beginning in late March through May and in early October through November for the Spring semester. Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled.

APPLY HERE

For Data C8, 88, C100, C102 and C140 GSI positions, apply here: https://deptapps.coe.berkeley.edu/ase/data/apply

GSI Duties

The following gives a general outline of typical duties of Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs). Instructors are free to vary the duties, subject to not exceeding the number of hours specified above. It is very important that GSIs and instructors meet at the beginning of the semester to clarify the instructor's requirements.

Statistics 2, Statistics 20 or Statistics 21 (100-300 students)

  1. Meet Sections and hold office hours. To prepare for section, you review the subject matter, solve problems, put together and copy handouts. A 25% GSI meets two sections for two hours per week and holds two office hours a week. A 50% GSI meets four sections and holds four office hours. Typically, there are from 25 to 35 students in a section.
  2. Prepare quizzes and give them in section (every three weeks or so.) You grade these quizzes. You grade these quizzes.
  3. Maintain paper records of students' scores on weekly homework assignments, computer assignments, quizzes, midterms, and the final examination. (GSIs do not grade homework; Readers handle that.)
  4. Attend weekly meeting with the instructor of the course.
  5. Students often request that GSIs hold extra review sessions just before midterms and the final examination. These are usually scheduled in the late afternoon or early evening, not in section time. GSIs are not required by the Statistics Department to hold these sessions, but they often do--or hold extra office hours around exam time.
  6. Proctor midterms and finals.
  7. Grade, in conjunction with the instructor, the midterms and the final examinations for the course. The grading takes a lot of time. You have to make certain to clear your own schedule so that you can be ready to grade when the instructor is. For example, you cannot ask to be excused from grading because you have to prepare for an exam of your own. Of course, if you have a scheduled examination during the time of the grading session, you can leave the session for the length of time of that exam. Be careful with travel plans at the end of the semester. You must be present--no substitutes--throughout both the grading of the final examination and the assignment of letter grades for the course. This process can take two days.
  8. Students occasionally want to review a final examination, or their overall score for a course. GSIs meet these students, and, if any changes are called for, make a recommendation to the instructor in course.

Other Undergraduate Courses (20 to 70 students)

  1. Meet Sections and hold office hours. To prepare for section, you review the subject matter, solve problems, put together and copy handouts. A 25% GSI meets two sections for two hours per week and holds two office hours a week. A 50% GSI meets four sections and holds four office hours. Typically, there are from 25 to 35 students in a section.
  2. The instructor may ask you to set up computer assignments for the course. You and/or the instructor will grade these. The instructor may also have you prepare and give quizzes. You will grade these.
  3. Maintain paper records of student's scores on weekly homework assignments, computer assignments, quizzes. (GSIs do not grade homework; Readers handle that.)
  4. Attend meetings with the instructor of the course.
  5. Students often request that GSIs hold extra review sessions just before midterms and the final examination. These are usually scheduled in the late afternoon or early evening, not in section time. GSIs are not required by the Statistics Department to hold these sessions, but they often do--or hold extra office hours around exam time.
  6. Proctor midterms and finals.
  7. Grade, in conjunction with the instructor, the midterms and the final examinations for the course. The grading takes a lot of time. You have to make certain to clear your own schedule so that you can be ready to grade when the instructor is. For example, you cannot ask to be excused from grading because you have to prepare for an exam of your own. Of course, if you have a scheduled examination during the time of the grading session, you can leave the session for the length of time of that exam. Be careful with travel plans at the end of the semester. You must be present--no substitutes--throughout both the grading of the final examination and the assignment of letter grades for the course. This process can take two days.

Graduate Courses

  1. Most graduate courses do not have a GSI. However, the first-year Ph.D. courses (205, 210, 215) almost always do. GSI hold office hours and grade assignments. The assignments consist of problem sets, which are a key ingredient of the course. These can only be graded by graduate students who have a sure grasp of the subject matter, so you probably won't be asked to be a GSI for a graduate course until you have been here for a couple of years.
  2. A few other graduate courses might have GSIs; the duties are about the same as in an upper division course.
  3. In graduate courses, GSIs do not take part in either the grading of examinations or the assignment of letter grades.