The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development is currently accepting applications for fall semester 2017 teaching assistant positions.
Applicants must be current full-time Columbia University students enrolled in a degree granting program. Applications will only be accepted by graduate students and undergraduate juniors or seniors.
The teaching assistants will support the following courses:
- SDEV UN1900 Intro to Sustainable Development Seminar
- SDEV UN2320 Economic and Financial Methods for Sustainable Development
- SDEV UN3280 Workshop in Sustainable Development (Section 1)
- SDEV UN3280 Workshop in Sustainable Development (Section 2)
- SDEV UN3330 Ecological and Social Systems for SD
- SDEV UN3390 GIS for Sustainable Development and Lab
For all positions described below:
Time commitment and responsibilities
A teaching assistant must fulfill the responsibilities as identified by the assigned supervising instructor while maintaining conduct of the highest level of professionalism and confidentiality. The teaching assistant may be responsible for directing drills, recitations, discussions or laboratory sessions related to courses offered by an officer of higher rank. They will be responsible for meeting and coordinating with the instructor regularly and performing other course-related duties as assigned, like grading written coursework. This also may include developing, distributing and statistically analyzing “peer review” and “self review” forms.
To apply: Post your cover letter stating your interest in the position and a resume (both in PDF format) to https://fs21.formsite.com/earthinstitute/form336/index.html
The deadline to apply is 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
- Teaching assistant for SDEV UN1900: Introduction to Sustainable Development Seminar
This course will take place on Monday from 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m. and will be taught by Professor Jason Smerdon. The course is designed to be a free flowing discussion of the principals of sustainable development and the scope of this emerging discipline.
This course will also serve to introduce the students to the requirements of the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development and the content of the required courses in both the special concentration and the major. The focus will be on the breadth of subject matter, the multidisciplinary nature of the scholarship and familiarity with the other key courses in the program.
Applicants should have knowledge of sustainable development, with previous coursework in the area and be familiar with the structure of the major and the special concentration in the undergraduate program in sustainable development.
- Teaching Assistant for SDEV UN2320 Economic and Financial Methods for Sustainable Development
This course will take place on Thursday from 2:40-3:55 p.m. and will be taught by Professor Satyajit Bose.
The objective of this course is to introduce students to key analytical concepts, skills and methods necessary to understand and evaluate the economic and financial aspects of sustainable development. Throughout the course, students will compare competing objectives and policies through the prism of economic & financial reasoning. This course is intended to provide students with a flying introduction to key analytical concepts required to understand topics in environmental economics and finance and to introduce them to selected topics within the field.
Applicants should have strong finance and economic skills and an interest in sustainable development.
- Teaching assistant for SDEV UN3280 Workshop in Sustainable Development (Section 1)
This course will take place on Tuesday and Thursday from 10:10 a.m.-12 p.m. and will be taught by Professor Stuart Gaffin.
The upper level undergraduate Sustainable Development Workshop will be modeled on client based graduate-level workshops, but with more time devoted to methods of applied policy analysis and issues in Sustainable Development. The heart of the course is the group project on an issue of sustainable development with a faculty advisor providing guidance and ultimately grading student performance. Students will receive instruction on methodology, group work, communication and the context of policy analysis. Much of the reading in the course will be project-specific and identified by the student research teams.
Applicants should have strong project management skills and an interest in sustainable development.
- Teaching assistant for SDEV UN3280 Workshop in Sustainable Development (Section 2)
This course will take place on Monday and Wednesday from 10:10 a.m.-12 p.m. and will be taught by Professor Radley Horton.
The upper level undergraduate Sustainable Development Workshop will be modeled on client based graduate-level workshops, but with more time devoted to methods of applied policy analysis and issues in Sustainable Development. The heart of the course is the group project on an issue of sustainable development with a faculty advisor providing guidance and ultimately grading student performance. Students will receive instruction on methodology, group work, communication and the context of policy analysis. Much of the reading in the course will be project-specific and identified by the student research teams.
Applicants should have strong project management skills and an interest in sustainable development.
- Teaching Assistant for SDEV UN3330: Ecological and Social Systems for Sustainable Development
This course will take place on Monday and Wednesday from 6:10-7:25 p.m. and will be taught by Professor Ruth DeFries.
The course provides an overview of the complex relationships between ecological and social systems. The course focuses on basic principles in understanding these relationships. After the students are introduced to these basic concepts, the course will focus on three current topics central to Sustainable Development for in-depth study. The emphasis is on the multiple perspectives – environmental, social and economic—required to understand and develop solutions to problems in sustainable development.
Applicants should have knowledge of sustainable development, with previous coursework in the area and be familiar with the structure of the major and the special concentration in the undergraduate program in sustainable development.
- Teaching assistant for SDEV UN3390: GIS for Sustainable Development
This course will take place on Monday from 1:10-2:25 p.m. and Wednesday from 1:10-3:25 p.m. This course will be taught by Professor Kytt MacManus.
This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive overview of theoretical concepts underlying GIS systems and to give students a strong set of practical skills to use GIS for stainable development research. Through a mixture of lectures, readings, focused discussions, and hands-on exercises, students will acquire an understanding of the variety and structure of spatial data and databases, gain knowledge of the principles behind raster and vector based spatial analysis, and learn basic cartographic principles for producing maps that effectively communicate a message. Student will also learn to use newly emerging web based mapping tools such as Google Earth, Google Maps and similar tools to develop online interactive maps and graphics.
