Jobs

Apply Now to work with F&C!

Make a difference in the lives of young adults, gain unparalleled teaching and leadership experience, and tackle the biggest societal questions with some of our city's most inquisitive minds.

If you're looking for tutoring experience, a Classroom TA position may be a good fit for you.

Each day, CTAs observe professors' morning seminars before leading daily 2-hour reading sessions for a group of 7-8 students, guiding students through their daily readings. CTAs also have the opportunity to build personal relationships with students outside of the classroom by leading the students' four-day orientation and running weekly community activities of their choosing. Lastly, CTAs serve as college mentors for 3 of their students throughout the academic year, with introductory mentorship meetings beginning in July. 

See our sample daily schedule

Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply to be a Civic Leadership TA as well. Civic Leadership TAs work with F&C students throughout the academic year on a civic leadership project of their choice. Groups meet twice a month from September through April.

See a sample academic year calendar here

Qualifications:

  • High proficiency in presenting and communicating complex ideas
  • Demonstrated interest in civic or political issues
  • Experience organizing or leading others 
  • Familiarity with college application process, particularly for low-income, first generation, immigrant, and/or New York City students
  • Must be a Columbia University sophomore or junior who has taken Contemporary Civilization
    • Barnard students and GS/SEAS students who have taken comparable classes are welcome to apply. Please indicate in your application questions which classes from your transcript best match the F&C syllabus
  • Prior work with low-income and first-generation students is desired
     

Time Commitment:

25 - 35 hours per week from June 23 - July 31
+ 2.5 hours per month Sept - May

  • Staff training: June 23 - June 27
    • Typically 9:30 - 5pm 
       
  • Summer program June 30 - July 25, Monday - Friday
    • 9:30 - 11:30am     Professor Seminar (CTA observes)
    • 11:30 - 1:30pm     Lunch (provided)
    • 1:30 - 3:30pm       Reading Sessions (CTA leads)
    • 3:30 - 5:00pm       Community Building Activities (CTA designs)
  • Staff Wrap-up Days July 28 - July 31

  • College Mentorship: September through May
    • TAs meet one-on-one with each mentee for about 1 hour a month to keep them on track with college applications

Compensation:

Up to $4,630 per year
+ lunches June 23 - July 25

CTAs are paid $23/ hour biweekly, which amounts to around:

  • $4,000 - $4,400 for staff training and summer program (June - July)
  • $230 per student in college mentorship (Sept - May)
  • Opportunities are available throughout the program for extra work and additional compensation

If you want to work with students holistically, teaching essential writing skills while also helping them adjust to the toughest parts of college, the Residential TA position is for you.

RTAs live in suites with our students and lead evening Writing Tutorials, teaching key writing skills to our students and running writing workshops. In all, RTAs work with our students between the hours of 1:30pm and 11pm. Other RTA responsibilities include everything from leading recreation periods to teaching general study skills and time management. Overall, this is your chance to help a young person recognize that she or he belongs on a college campus and in a college seminar. RTAs additionally serve as college mentors for 3 students throughout the academic year, with introductory mentorship meetings beginning in July. 

See our sample daily schedule

Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply to be a Civic Leadership TA as well. Civic Leadership TAs work with F&C students throughout the academic year on a civic leadership project of their choice. Groups meet twice a month from September through April.

See a sample academic year calendar here

    Qualifications:

    • Editing and/or Tutoring experience
    • Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
    • Must be a Columbia University sophomore or junior who has taken Contemporary Civilization
      • Barnard students and GS/SEAS students who have taken comparable classes are welcome to apply. Please indicate in your application questions which classes from your transcript best match the F&C syllabus
    • Demonstrated ability to work well as part of a team
    • Experience organizing or leading others 
    • Prior work with low-income and first-generation students is desired

    Time Commitment:

    Approx. 35 hours per week from June 23 - July 31
    + 2.5 hours per month Sept - May

    • RTA Move In June 21

    • Staff Training June 23 - June 27
      • Typically 9:30 - 5pm
         
    • Summer Program June 30 - July 25 , Sunday - Friday
      • 35 hours per week maximum
      • Staff are typically ON during the hours of 12:30pm - 11:00pm (with occasional wake-up/breakfast shifts and late-night hallway checks)
      • Staff are OFF Fridays 5pm - Sundays 5pm (when students return home for the weekends
    • RTA Move Out July 26

    • Staff Wrap-up Days Aug 5 - Aug 7 (virtual)

    • College Mentorship: September through May
      • TAs meet one-on-one with each mentee for about 1 hour a month to keep them on track with college applications

    Compensation:

    Up to $4,730 per year
    + free housing and meal plan June 21 - July 26

    RTAs are paid $23/ hour biweekly, which amounts to around:

    • $4,000 - $4,500 for staff training and summer program (June - July)
    • $230 per student college mentorship (Sept - May)
    • Opportunities are available throughout the program for extra work and additional compensation
    • Free housing and full weekday meal plan June 21 - July 26

    Turn political thought into action by leading students on a yearlong civic engagement project

    We put theory to practice in our civic engagement and leadership program during the academic year. Civic TA partners co-lead twice-monthly after-school lessons for a group of 10-12 students. Pre-written lessons and a tested curriculum provide students with the skills and building blocks to research a civic issue, educate others about it, and advocate for change. The program culminates in May with Civic Night presentations to the incoming class of F&C scholars. You can see past civic engagement projects here

    See a sample academic year calendar here

    Because the civic leadership project is a continuation of the summer's activities, Civic Leadership Teaching Assistants must also work with our students in the summer as either Residential TAs or Classroom TAs.

    Qualifications:

    • Same as those for Residential TA or Classroom TA, plus...
    • Experience leading group projects, clubs, or events
    • Some knowledge of the civic issues relevant to NYC youth
    • Some familiarity with the structure of NYC government and political process
    • Ability to commit to the full academic year (see below)
    • Must be a Residential TA or Classroom TA in summer 2024 to serve as a Civic TA in the 2024-2025 school year.

    Time Commitment:

    5 hours per month Sept - May

    • 2 hour meetings every other week, typically 5:25 - 7:25pm
    • Must be able to commit in advance to the meeting day for the fall semester
    • CLTAs do not work over school holidays or winter break

    Compensation:

    $925 per year

    • $23/hour for meetings, prep time, and trainings

    If you're ready to start training new teachers, coordinating events, and managing a staff, apply to be a graduate student fellow!

    The graduate fellow works with our program coordinator to train our new cohort of undergraduate teaching assistants, and support them during the summer. The fellow will support program coordination by helping organize events, ordering and distributing supplies, and onboarding students. During the academic year, the fellow manages undergraduate college mentors and shares supervision of the after-school civic leadership program.

    Responsibilities:

    • Partner with full-time staff to run staff training in late June
    • Engage in student programming and staff development during summer program in July
    • Support the program behind the scenes by performing necessary administrative tasks, such as ordering supplies, and coordinating events, such as our annual alumni dinner  
    • Supervising college mentorships during the academic year
    • Observing and supporting civic leadership meetings during the academic year
    • Coordinating and hosting other academic year events such as alumni programs, community-building activities, or teacher development.

    Time Commitment:

    • Summer Prep:
      • May – June
      • Est. 20 hours of prep total
      • Flexible schedule, can be virtual 
    • Staff training and summer program:
      • June 27 – Aug 7
      • Est. 30 hours/week Monday - Friday
    • Academic Year
      • Sept 3 – May 9
      • Est. 7 hours/week
      • Late afternoons and evenings

    Qualifications:

    • Must be current Columbia graduate student who will not graduate before May 9, 2025
    • Strong organizational and project management skills
    • Experience leading or training others
    • Experience teaching in the humanities, especially reading and writing skills
    • Familiarity with program texts highly desired
    • Prior work with high school students, low-income and/or first-generation students is ideal
    • Must be authorized to work in the United States

    Compensation:

    $35/hr, up to $13,000 per year

    • Up to $7,000 for the summer
    • Up to $6,000 for the academic year

    Application:

    Please submit the following materials by March 16

    1. Cover Letter
    2. Resume or CV
    3. References (names and emails of 2 references)
    4. Unofficial transcript through Fall 2023
    5. Writing Sample
    6. Submit online

     

    Application

    To apply, please gather the following materials and submit them on our F&C Staff Application by 11:59pm on Sunday, February 9 (for undergraduate positions) or March 23 (for graduate positions)

    Note: You only need to apply once to be considered for multiple undergraduate positions

      • Short Answer Application Supplements

        In lieu of a traditional cover letter, please write short responses (150 - 250 words) to our TA Application Questions. The questions ask you to reflect on your work, volunteer, and personal experiences to date, and explain concrete ways they will inform your work with our students.  

        For graduate student positions, please submit a traditional cover letter.

      • Resume

      • References

        Names and email addresses of two references, academic or professional. 

        If you are invited for an interview we'll contact your references to schedule a short phone call with them.

      • Unofficial transcript through Fall 2024

        An easy way to make an unofficial transcript is to log into SSOL, under "Academic Records" select "Grades and Registration Status,"and print the webpage as a PDF. 

      • Writing Sample

        For undergraduates, please choose a paper written for Contemporary Civilization. If you have not taken CC please select a paper written on one of the texts from our syllabus

        For graduate fellows, please choose any paper written for a humanities course. 

      • Submit

        Please submit all materials using the F&C Job Application Form 

      RTA and Student

      Student Voices

      The Difference a TA Makes

      Our TAs encourage students' intellectual growth, foster their academic independence, build their reading and writing skills, and support their college applications. Read below what our students think of this important work. 

      "They don’t necessarily give you the answer straight away, you have to develop your own perspective...Most people think that a teacher must correct you if you’re right or wrong but TAs have you develop your own thinking, develop your own opinion."  -Mario
      "Over the course of the three weeks I had improved my simple grammar mistakes from the help of my TAs. Normally when I write in school my teachers just tell me to elaborate on my ideas and nothing more. Thus, I really thought that I was a terrible writer, but hearing positive and negative feedback on my writing boosted my confidence." -Kenya
      "My mentor and I went through my common app essay, he really helped me come up with a good essay...He was always there to give me advice, tell me how his college process went, tell me what were some things he liked about college in general." -Amina
      My TA helped me throughout my college application process by reading and providing feedback on my essays. He was really helpful in finding information about college academics and answering all my questions. "   -Alba
      "The biggest surprise for me was Professor Padilla, the TAs, and how nice and understanding Jessica was! I really felt a sense of community the minute I joined and I am so grateful for this experience." - Luis
      "I don’t want to change the ways TAs communicate with the students and help them get a better understanding of their writing. Also they help to structure and add opinions based on the stories. So that you know you’re getting better and better by the end of the program." -Ashanti
      "I didn’t realize like the potential I had with my topic and he helped me find my potential. So I thank him a lot for that because I really feel like if I didn’t have him as my TA a lot of my essays or my supplements it would have been very bad."       -Kwame
      "A TA helps you by checking over your work, working with you, just talking to you a lot. It’s something that’s intimate, you create a strong relationship with them."
      "One thing I learned this summer is that If I actually take the TAs suggestions into consideration, I can actually write better!"         - Michelle