MIMS Working on Campus

Types of Student Academic Jobs

Instructional Positions

At UC Berkeley, student instructional positions — called academic student employee (ASE) positions — include graduate student instructors (GSI), readers, and tutors. 

• A GSI is equivalent to a teaching assistant (TA) at other universities. A GSI serves as an apprentice under the active supervision of the faculty member who is the instructor of record for the course, in addition to grading papers and exams, holding office hours, and assisting course instructors in other ways.
• Readers and tutors typically grade papers and exams, hold office hours, attend lectures, and assist course instructors in other ways. Tutors may provide individual or group tutoring sessions. Readers and tutors do not teach.

For more information, see the Graduate Division’s website on appointments. 

GSIs, readers, and tutors are union-represented employees and are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the current contract and the systemwide bargaining unit relevant to their job title.

Research Positions

A graduate student researcher (GSR) is a graduate student who performs research broadly related to their degree programs in an academic department or research unit under the direction of a faculty member or authorized principal investigator.

GSRs may not be assigned teaching-related , administrative, or general assistance duties that are carried out by employees in other job titles, including GSIs, readers, and tutors.

GSRs are union-represented employees and are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the current contract and the systemwide bargaining unit relevant to their job title.

Advantages of Working on Campus

On top of the experience itself, there are a number of advantages to working in these positions:

• Wages: First, you receive an hourly wage which can vary depending on the hiring title. This helps with living expenses. Current Salary Scales
• Fee Remission: Second, you may receive fee remission that offsets a portion of your tuition and fees, depending on the number of hours worked during the course of the semester. Fee remissions do not cover nonresident supplemental tuition (NRST) or  professional degree supplemental tuition (PDST).

Where to Look for Campus Jobs

As an I School student, you are eligible to work in any campus department. Previous MIMS students have worked in a wide variety of departments, including such as math, EECS, cognitive science, Haas School of Business, and more. Keep your prior coursework and undergraduate background in mind when you are looking for a position.

The I School hires a limited number of GSIs, readers, and tutors every semester; see the list and application here.

• For INFO courses, the I School primarily hires GSIs or readers. Most of these positions go to I School Ph.D. students or to second-year MIMS students who have already taken the course. Students hired for INFO positions are required to be physically available on campus in Berkeley, California.
• For DATASCI or CYBER courses, the I School hires readers or tutors. Many of these positions typically go to MIDS or MICS students who have already taken the course. DATASCI and CYBER reader and tutor positions typically do not come with fee remission.

As a new student, it will be easier to find a GSI, reader, or tutor position than a GSR position — especially if you are qualified to teach in another department. Faculty prefer to know your research abilities before hiring GSR positions, and the majority of GSR positions go to Ph.D. students. 

There is no single way to go about finding a GSR or instructional position, and there is no single online bulletin-board for posting open appointments. Several approaches you might consider:

• For GSI, reader, and tutor positions: Berkeley maintains a list of departments which typically offer graduate-student positions. Students should also review individual departmental websites for ASE applications and follow the instructions listed. Students can also look on Handshake and the #gsi_gsr_jobs I School Slack channel for open positions.
• For GSR positions: For the most part, you will need to approach faculty directly, talk with them, present your qualifications, and see if they are hiring. This is how it works at the I School: faculty for the most part make individual arrangements with qualified and eligible students depending on their needs and resources.

After you have applied for a GSI, reader, or tutor position, please be aware that you may not hear anything from a department if you do not get the position (similar to any company’s hiring practice). Due to the volume of ASE applications and emails each department receives, we encourage students not to reach out directly to individual faculty members or departments regarding your application or application status.

Academic student employee positions are serious employment responsibilities and require commitment to the teaching mission of the university. MIMS students are advised to treat the job search for academic student employee positions with professional courtesy and to follow through on accepted offers unless significant unforeseen circumstances intervene.

Fee Remission & Estimated Fees Paid by Fee Remission

Fee Remission Eligibility

• Employed as a GSR, GSI, reader, or tutor
• Hired at 25%–50% time
• Employed during a fall or spring semester (fee remission is unavailable during the summer semester)
• Registered by established university deadlines
• Meet the academic requirements (minimum GPA, no more than 2 incompletes, etc.) 

Review fee remission details and eligibility criteria here.

Estimated MIMS Fee Remission Amounts (Fall 2024 or Spring 2025)

* Excludes the Document Fee (a one-time fee charged in a student’s first term), Immersion Fee, and UCGPC Fee.

Note these are estimated tuition and fees and fee remission amounts only; students’ actual bill and fee remission they receive may vary. Tuition and fees and fee remission amounts are subject to change by the administration of the University of California, Berkeley, and/or the Regents of the University of California, and could be affected by state or federal funding reductions.

Additional Requirements

All first-time appointed Academic Student Employees or ASEs (GSIs, AI-GSs, readers and tutors) must attend the New ASE Orientation sponsored by the UCB Labor Relations Office. It is a 30 minute orientation that is absolutely mandatory for all first-time appointed ASEs. For more detailed information such as how students can enroll, when and where, please click on the link above which will take you directly to the UCB Labor Relations.

MIMS students should also be aware that all first-time GSIs are required to complete these 3 requirements in addition to all other appointment eligibility requirements: 

• the Teaching Conference for First-Time GSIs,
• the online Ethics Course,
• and the 300-level pedagogy course offered in departments. 

These three requirements do not apply to reader or tutor positions.

The Graduate Division’s GSI, GSR, Reader, and Tutor Guide outlines all of the above in much more detail.

All GSR, GSI, reader, and tutor positions are established only by the issuance of a formal Written Notice of Appointment; verbal agreements with a faculty or staff member are not formal notices of appointment. The University reserves the right to modify prospective employment opportunities prior to  issuance of a formal Written Notice of Appointment.

Hiring Eligibility

The University of California expects employees to conduct work within the United States and employees must be eligible to work in the United States. This applies to both in-person and remote work. 

More Information

If you have any questions or need further information, please email studentaffairs@ischool.berkeley.edu.