Eligibility and Requirements

Basic Requirements

Be in Berkeley, and available, from the official start of the semester until three days after the final exam is given. Please note that the semester officially begins, typically, a week before classes start. The Fall Semester starts on Thursday, August 16, 2012.
UC Berkeley Graduate GPA of at least 3.1 (3.0 for reader or tutor positions)
A graduate student, enrolled in at least 8 units during the semester you will hold the position. This means that if you go on Filing Fee Status, you will NOT be eligible to be a GSI, GSR, Reader or Tutor.
Have no more than 2 incomplete grades in upper division or graduate level classes
Unless otherwise specified, attendance at course lectures is required for all GSIs and Readers. Check your availability on the schedule of classes before applying to any given position.

If you are a non-native english speaker, by the start of your appointment (August 1 for Fall positions; January 1 for Spring positions), you must pass either the TSE (Test of Spoken English) or the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit). Information on these tests is available at Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Rsource Center.

Note: You are exempt from this requirement if you hold a bachelor’s level degree from a U.S. institution.
If you hold a F1 or J1 visa, you cannot hold appointments totaling more than 50%. See the UC Berkeley Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS) website for more details.

Register for and attend Econ 301, the department's pedagogy seminar. The first meeting will be on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 1pm - 5pm.
Attend the University-wide GSI orientation held the the week before classes start, on Friday, August 17, 2012 from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM in Dwinelle Hall. Dates and additional information are available at the Teaching Conferences link.
For Fall positions, international students must attend both the regular and the international sessions. The date for the international sessions is for Fall 2012 is Thursday, August 16, 2012. [For Spring positions there is only one session, which all first-time GSIs must attend.]
Successfully complete UC Berkeley's on-line course in professional standard and ethics. Information is available here.