Course Assistants - What are they and how do I become one?

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May 22, 2024 (01:30:36 PM)

What Is an Undergraduate Course Assistant?

In this course, an Undergraduate Course Assistant (UCA) is generally present in addition to your instructor. A UCA is a student, generally in the School of Cyber and Computer Sciences, who successfully passed CSCI 1301 and that is hired by the School to assist other students.

Their duties generally include:

Their duties can not include:

How Do I Become One?

A UCA is hired by the School upon recommendation of instructors, after discussion with our Academic Program Coordinator, and possibly our Director of Undergraduate Studies.

A UCA must:

Additionally, if a student wants to help with this particular class, then the student must have successfully passed CSCI 1301 with a grade of B or higher

A UCA will:

So, in short: talk to any CSCI 1301 instructor if you feel like becoming a UCA.

I Am a UCA, What Should I Do Now?

Congratulations! You should now read more about your position in the UCA starting guide!

What Is the Difference With a GRA?

Graduate Course Assistants (GRA) hold a bachelor and are generally PhD or Master student. Their duties generally overlap with those of the instructors and those of the UCAs, as they are the first point of contact of UCAs, design projects, organize the schedule of the tutoring center and of the labs.

What Is the Difference With a URA?

Undegraduate Research Assistants (or “URAs”) share many similarities with UCAs:

However, their focus is on working on research instead of being focused on teaching. The difference is sometimes tenuous, but URAs positions are generally given in priority to “advanced” students (that is, close to graduation), to use their gained knowledge to push further the limits of human knowledge!

It is not possible to cumulate an URA and an UCA position, but obtaining an UCA position is in general an excellent stepping stone to obtain a URA position, if you wish to do so: by proving that you are reliable, serious, agreeable to work with, you will maximize your chances of having a Faculty member notice you and offer you to work on their research with them.


  1. Although that may sound curious, we believe it is important to remind you of the fact that they can only help you understanding, but that you have to do your part!↩︎

  2. That’s a job really well taken care of by the Academic Success Center!↩︎