Graduate Assistant Psychology Department
Full-time (20 hours per week). Three positions are available for 2025-26.
Primary Purpose
The psychology department has three (3) full-time graduate assistant (GA) positions, which provide assistance with undergraduate research methods courses. Each GA is assigned to work with one of the instructors teaching a senior-level research methods laboratory course. The GA will provide assistance with the lectures and labs for that course and offer tutoring services related to research, writing, and data/statistical analysis.
Duties and Responsibilities
Duties may differ slightly across instructors. Examples of typical activities include:
- assisting instructors with preparing and running laboratory sessions
- leading study groups or review sessions for exams
- supervising students with their data collection
- assisting students with data analyses (using SPSS or similar statistical software) and writing drafts of lab reports
- assisting instructors with grading lab assignments, papers, and/or exams
- tutoring students on course content, writing, and statistical/data analysis
- managing the research participation pool, where students gain experience by participating in psychology research studies
- ancillary duties include providing assistance for large mass-lecture courses, giving an exam if a professor is ill or attending a conference, proctoring make-up exams, and other departmental teaching-related assistance
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications and Desired Qualifications: GA’s are required to have coursework in research methods and statistics, preferably as they apply to the social sciences. The following types of experiences are not required, but may be helpful in this position: working on research projects; conducting independent research such as an honors project; data analyses using SPSS or similar software; and/or experience in teaching/training, customer service, or other types of client support positions that require effective communication.
Learning Outcomes
As a GA, you will gain first-hand experience teaching a college-level course in psychology and will learn about:
- Planning and carrying out a lesson plan
- Using rubrics to grade assignments and exams
- Giving constructive feedback to students to help them improve their learning
- The mechanics of good writing and how to revise poorer writing for a better product
- Conducting & interpreting data analysis using SPSS or similar software
- Supervising students on their data collection and analysis, which can help you to learn supervisory skills
Preferred Availability
GAs will need availability when courses are offered. This usually occurs between Monday-Thursday between the hours of 10 am- 8 pm at night. You will also need to be available two Fridays a month for make-up exams 8-12 am.
How to Apply
Application includes (a) completed RIC Graduate assistantship application, (b) resume, and (c) 1-2 page cover letter explaining why you want the position and highlighting how you meet the qualifications described above. Deadline is March 13th. Email materials to: Dr. Emily Cook, Director of Graduate Studies, Psychology.