Sessional Positions

In spring 2025 we expect to have sessional positions available in the following courses. The CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2024 AT 4:00 PM. The position descriptions can be found at:

BISC 101 - General Biology - Lecturer (2/3 of semester) - due Thursday October 31 at 4:00 PM
BISC 102 - General Biology - Lab Instructor - due Thursday October 31 at 4:00 PM
BISC 202 - Genetics - Lecturer - due Thursday October 31 at 4:00 PM
BISC 654 - Food & Drug Toxicology - due Thursday October 31 at 4:00 PM

Applications for sessional positions are to be submitted online. Click here for the Biological Sciences application form.

Teaching Assistant/Tutor Marker Positions

Spring 2025 (1251)

Biological Sciences Teaching Assistant / Tutor Marker Hiring Priorities

Application period: October 28 - November 11, 2024

Appointment period: December 30, 2024 - April 25, 2025

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Duties, Responsibilities and Term of the Appointment

TA/TM duties and scheduled hours will vary from course to course.  

Applicants please note:

• Applicants are expected to be available for the entire term of the contract: December 30, 2024 - April 25, 2025
• You must discuss any planned absences with the course instructor in advance, who will determine if an exception is possible. 
• If you are taking courses or have other restrictions on your time, please:
  1. check the Biology Course Outlines for basic course information
  2. check the detailed course schedule (incl. tutorial/lab times) on go.sfu.ca  (select 'Browse all courses' --> BISC --> select the specific course --> select 'View Class Sections')
  3. contact the course instructor before applying to ensure you understand the requirements of the TAship and are available when the job requires
• TA positions in Biological Sciences include some combination of the following, depending on the way the course is delivered:  attendance at lectures; instruction of multiple tutorials; instruction of multiple laboratories of 2-4 hours in length.  
• TAs must be available to invigilate exams.  
• TAs of online courses may be required to invigilate in-person exams at the SFU Burnaby campus and/or collect exams and course work for marking from, and return to (once marked) the Burnaby campus.  Applicants with limitations on traveling to the Burnaby campus should contact the course instructor in advance of applying to confirm course requirements.
• All successful applicants must demonstrate completion of the required safety training prior to the start of the course. Safety training requirements for each course are listed here. Retraining is not required if certification is still valid.

Course instructors will receive a list of applicants interested in TAing their course and will have access to any CV or transcript you upload.  Instructors will rank applicants based on their qualifications.  Individual instructors may require an interview via telephone, email and/or in person in order to assess your qualifications. 

QUALIFICATIONS for TA/TM positions in the Department of Biological Sciences

All courses:

The Department of Biological Sciences includes a wide range of specializations and, in order to be appointed, a person must have sufficient knowledge in the discipline of the course to interpret the course material, as demonstrated by either having above average performance in an equivalent or related course from an undergraduate or graduate degree, or through graduate-level research in the subject area.

Additional requirements for specific courses:

W courses (BISC302W, BISC360W, and BISC440W) and BISC102:

As these are writing-intensive courses, some TAs may be responsible for providing feedback on written work.  For appointment to a position responsible for teaching writing in the discipline, applicants must demonstrate above average writing ability, sufficient to asses and critique written work.  Applicants may be asked to provide writing samples or other evidence of writing proficiency.

BISC106: 

Candidates must be familiar with Bio-Mechatronics and Bio-medical Engineering concepts, especially as they relate to biological systems and also be proficient in cell biology engineering and function, flow of genetic engineering, metabolism, and bio-inspired design.  Candidates should be proficient in CAD design using Solidworks.

BISC303: 

Candidates must have hands-on experience and training in aseptic techniques for culturing, characterization, and identification of bacteria.  This experience may have been gained through coursework, research, or a combination.

BISC440W:

In order to be appointed, a person must be able to demonstrate knowledge of modern phylogenetic methodologies and scripting in the "R" environment.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only successful applicants will be contacted.  

Before going to the form, you should have:

• prepared a PDF of your CV ~3MB maximum size.  We prefer you name the file LastName_FirstNamel.pdf e.g. Lee_Jason.pdf;
• prepared a PDF that combines relevant undergraduate and graduate transcript(s) in a single document;
  
• your SFU ID (student) number (if applicable);
• any information on any scholarships or awards for which you have applied or which you will receive for the upcoming semester;
• your class schedule (if available).

You will need an SFU email account to access the application.  If you do not have an SFU email account, please e-mail Manager, Administrative Services for access.

Click here to be forwarded to the Biological Sciences Teaching Assistantship Application Form.   

If you receive an error message please contact bio-computing@sfu.ca.

Online applications must be submitted before the closing date.  Late applicants may contact biscmas@sfu.ca.  Should positions still be available, late applications will be considered after applications submitted on time.