Computer Science Help Center – Tutoring

The Computer Science Help Center staffs tutors, hiring advanced undergraduate students with excellent academic records. Tutors will help students in lower-level computer science courses. Tutoring is an excellent opportunity to build your resume, gain some teaching experience, provide a substantial service to others and get paid for it. By tutoring in the CSHC, a student will enhance his/her understanding of the fundamental computer science courses. CSEE also hires tutor assistants to help with CMSC 104, CMSC 201 and CMSC 202 tutoring. Tutors and tutor assistants typically work 4-8 hours per week.

Tutors must have completed all courses through CMSC 341 with good grades and can be concurrently enrolled in CMSC 331. Preference will be given to applicants who have already completed CMSC 331. Tutor assistants must have completed CMSC 201 and CMSC 202 with excellent grades, have a good overall GPA and can be concurrently enrolled in CMSC 341. Good communication skills are a MUST. To apply, or for more information, see the CSHC page.

Graders

The CSEE department is often in need of undergraduate students to serve as graders. The qualifications for a grader are:

  • Completion of CMSC 201 and CMSC 202 with excellent grades
  • GPA >= 3.5 in computer science and computer engineering courses

Grading positions are paid positions and may require up to 10 hours of work per week from each grader. Students who wish to be considered for a grading position should fill out an Undergraduate Application for Employment. Graders are hired on a per semester basis at the beginning of each semester.

Lab Assistants

The CSEE Department hires qualified undergraduates to work as lab assistants in CMSC 201 and CMSC 202. The lab assistant is responsible for helping the teaching assistant during the lab session. Typical duties of the lab assistant include assisting students who are struggling with the lab material and checking to make sure students have completed the lab assignment. A lab assistant has typically worked as both a grader and tutor prior to being promoted to lab assistant. Lab assistants generally work 4-6 hours per week. Often, a lab assistant will also work as a tutor or grader to increase the number of hours worked per week.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Positions

The CSEE Department has Undergraduate Teaching Assistant positions available for the introductory Computer Science courses. CSEE employs a few advanced undergraduate students with excellent academic records to work as lab/discussion section leaders. These positions are highly competitive. This is an excellent opportunity for a student to build his/her resume, gain teaching experience, and provide a substantial service to others. As an undergraduate teaching assistant you will enhance your understanding of the fundamental computer science courses — a great way to improve your graduate record exam scores. Undergraduate TAs typically have previous experience as a tutor, grader and lab assistant. This experience can be from another institution. Each applicant must have a faculty member provide a reference and must submit a resume with an attached unofficial transcript printed from myUMBC. Good communication skills are a MUST.