<p>I just got accepted into the MPA program at Georgia. Fortunately, I have also been awarded with two assistantships. I don't know yet whether I will be a research or teaching assistant. I hope for research, but I will be happy doing anything if they are going to pay me to go to grad school. Right now, they think it is more likely that I will be a teaching assistant.</p>
<p>For those of you that have assistanships, does this mean that I will probably be teaching a freshmen level course...or perhaps just grading papers and such? Once again, I will do anything they ask me happily, but I just don't feel qualified to teach college. Does anyone else feel this way?</p>
<p>it totally depends on the department, for example my department doesn’t teach any pre-major courses, so all our TAs teach junior/senior students (which made our lives a LOT easier)</p>
<p>you get to choose being a TA or RA? I’d go for RA no doubt, although less money but much better experience imo., except if you want to go into academia TA would be better fit :)</p>
<p>It depends on the program and the prof who is funding you (if your department does funding that way). If your funding prof teaches a freshman-level class, there’s a good chance that you’ll be assisting him/her as a TA in that class, for instance. If s/he teaches an upper-level class for majors, you’ll probably end up TAing that, or possibly teaching your own class related to your prof’s interests. If you’re in a program where the department just hires X number of TAs, instead of profs picking TAs specific to them, you’ll be put wherever the department needs an extra hand.</p>