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Academy for Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence

Each semester, about 1,000 graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) can be found in Virginia Tech’s lecture halls, classrooms and seminar spaces.

While all new GTAs are required to take a training workshop offered by the Graduate School and may receive additional instruction and support in their departments, Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education Karen P. DePauw wanted to provide more support and educational opportunities. In 2014 she launched the Academy for Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence, known as GrATE.

 Academy members provide support, resources, and mentorship to other GTAs in a variety of ways, including office hours, seminars and teach-ins.

The Academy is open to all Virginia Tech graduate students. Students may apply in the fall or the spring to become members and participate in Academy activities.

There are three membership levels: member, associate and fellow. Members are graduate students with limited or no GTA experience. Associates have at least one semester of teaching experience and/or have participated in curriculum development. Fellows have more than two semesters of teaching experience and/or curriculum development and outstanding teaching evaluations.   

To learn more about the academy, visit the GrATE website, like it on Facebook and follow it on Twitter, @VT_Grate. You can also find the latest blog posts here.