Undergraduate Student Instructor (UGSI) Qualifications

In order to apply to be a UGSI, you must meet the following qualifications:

  1. Good academic standing (i.e., cannot be on academic probation or have more than 2 incomplete grades)
  2. Enrolled in the minimum number of units approved by your college by the second week of classes (this is a week before the regular campus deadline)
  3. Upper Division (i.e., Junior or Senior) status when you begin teaching
  4. Have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, and maintain this GPA during the semester you are teaching
  5. Have previously taken the course, its equivalent, or a more advanced course with a grade of A- or better
  6. Complete the 300-level semester-long pedagogical seminar on teaching during the first semester you teach
  7. (First-time UGSIs): Must attend the Teaching Conference before the beginning of the semester. For future planning purposes, please note that the conference is always held on the Friday before the start of classes in the fall and spring semesters.
  8. (First-time UGSIs): Must complete the GSI Professional Standards and Ethics Online Course by the first day of classes.
  9. (International students who would be First-time UGSIs): Must complete the Language Proficiency Screening Questionnaire (please notify Patrick Hernan at hernan@eecs.berkeley.edu once you have completed the questionnaire).
  10. If you wish to be a UGSI during the Summer Session and you are a graduating senior, you must postpone your graduation to August in order to be eligible for a summer GSI appointment.

UGSI Hiring Guidelines

Undergraduate students may be appointed as Undergraduate Student Instructors (UGSIs) by exception only. Exceptions may be approved if a department is not able to recruit any qualified graduate students (including graduate students in other departments) or to hire a lecturer to fill an essential GSI position.

Hiring of Undergraduate Student Instructors (UGSIs) is handled by EECS Department staff only after they receive approval for each UGSI from a faculty member. The vast majority of EECS Undergraduate Student Instructors are upper-division students, as determined by their number of semesters at Cal (i.e., not by number of units). However, a small number of students may be recruited to serve as UGSIs earlier in their academic careers.  According to Graduate Division policy, these students must have upper-division standing in terms of the total units on their transcript. These students typically have UGSI duties that are more limited than a more advanced UGSI, and their work will be closely monitored.

EECS faculty are encouraged to set guidelines and best practices for selecting UGSIs for their courses. These best practices vary by course but may include:

  • Students with upper-division standing (as determined by non-AP units)
  • Students who have gone through a training process such as a reader, tutor, and/or lab assistant position
  • Students who have gone through a peer identification and review or training process where they are evaluated by a faculty member
  • Students who have attained a certain letter grade in the course

Here is the complete Graduate Division policy on hiring Undergraduates as GSIs.

Students can also refer to the GSI Teaching and Resource Center as an additional resource.