Hi, wondering if all courses are taught by Professors or if some are taught by TAs? Looking at Peabody school in particular. Thanks!
Not exactly sure about Peabody, but only two out of roughly forty classes I have taken in Arts $ Science have been taught by TAs, who were pretty amazing anyway.
Thank you!
Peabody will almost always be professors/instructors (not TAs). The only reason I say “almost always” is that I’ve never heard/seen it really happening but I guess it is possible.
TAs will be involved in secondary class components though, like discussion/recitation sections and science labs.
The only type of course in the school where classes are actually taught by TAs (that I know of) are the Math 1200/Math 1300 series (calc I/II and accelerated calc I/II). This is because they’re enormous since everyone interested in STEM takes them right away and it’s designed as a weed-out.
A few upper level courses in the science department are actually taught by TAs, in the fact that the teacher is a post-doc in the science department rather than having an appointment. However, my experience with these teachers is that they are actually alot better than the full time professors.
@fdgjfg : I thought the purpose of most elite private schools using “TAs” (graduate students) in math courses was strictly to keep section sizes down, regardless of them being weedout or not. If they wanted them large, they would have like 1-2 sections of 200+ and put a tough instructor as the course director who does most of the lecturing. With the “TAs”, you get a more intimate setting and manageable classroom and the graduate students have to solidify their knowledge to teach it. Oddly enough, some of them may care more than an actual faculty, so could be worse. Do VU’s calculus 1 and 2 sequence have lectures with 30+ students? I am pretty sure they don’t though I may be wrong.
@AnnieBot : Took the words out of my mouth. Some post-docs or graduate students who decide to take on upper division courses are actually doing it because they want to learn how to teach and WANT to run a class (they could be on a fellowship that emphasizes a majority or half teaching component and these are not yet common and most do not seek them). Most of your professors had no such experience beyond a recitation or even just grading or helping out in a teaching lab. But usually those who actively seek out teaching experiences will be better than some of the more lackluster research faculty, who likely view more as doing “a semester of time”
@Squirg : Don’t pre-judge/under-estimate “TA” taught classes (they aren’t that common at elite privates and publics beyond “extra” components described above such as labs and recitation, but they happen). I know schools market some premium about being taught by “experts” but fact is, many of these research experts (research faculty) are teaching outside of their expertise when they are teaching introductory/general courses and may teach such courses like crap. Often they may excel in special topics/focused upper division or intermediate courses that allow them to pretty much teach their research. A “TA” may put more specific focus into “how” to teach and even if they don’t have a PhD yet, or in the case of a post-doc, not a faculty member, may instruct much better. Also, whenever in “grade grubbing mode” or if you need an “easy” class to fill out a schedule, research shows that a lot of non-faculty and junior faculty grade easier than tenured faculty or senior lecturers (a higher rank of lecture track faculty).