Non-EU/non-EEA students admitted to the Master’s Computer Security can apply for a Long-term Teaching Assistantship (LTA) alongside their studies. This page covers the position, the selection procedure, the conditions that must be met before a contract can start, and how to apply.
The position
As a LTA you support one programming or systems-oriented course per period in the Bachelor’s Computer Science. The work involves helping students with practical assignments, preparing assignments, and grading them.
Size: 0.2 FTE, around one day a week alongside your studies.
Salary: around €500 per month. Salaries follow the standard university scales.
Duration: each position runs for six months and is renewable, normally for the full length of your Master’s (typically two years). Continuation is decided at the meeting held before the end of each semester.
Courses
The tentative lineup of BSc courses for the LTA position:
- Operating Systems (Y2, P2) or Secure Programming (Y3, P2)
- Compiler Construction (Y3, P3)
- Computer Organization (Y1, P4)
- Computer Networks (Y1, P5)
- Systems Programming Project (Y1, P6)
Details for each course are in the study guide for the Bachelor’s Computer Science. Other courses in the curriculum may need teaching assistants later as well.
Selection
Each academic year the department sets the maximum number of LTAs it can hire, so a selection among suitable candidates is usually needed. Selected candidates hear back shortly after applying and are invited to a welcome meeting, normally scheduled in June. At that meeting you receive the procedures and your course assignment for the first semester.
Before the end of each semester, for instance in December for the first semester, all teaching assistants meet again to decide on continuing the position and to assign courses for the next semester.
Before your contract can start
Before you contract can start:
- Complete your enrolment before the welcome meeting.
- Receive your residence permit at least two months before your contract starts.
- Processing times at the VU immigration and HR departments set the earliest possible start date at 1 October. You spend October preparing for the course you are assigned in period 2 (November and December).
How to apply
Apply once you have been notified of your admission to the Master’s Computer Security. Send two things:
- A teaching statement. Describe your approach to and experience with teaching and student support, and how that experience fits the work of supervising, preparing, and grading practical assignments. Comment briefly and explicitly on each course in the lineup above. You can also comment on other courses in the BSc curriculum that match your background.
- Your existing Master application documents (CV, transcript, and so on).
If you are not selected as a LTA
You can still apply to be a Teaching Assistant (TA) for one or more individual courses. Each course coordinator runs a brief selection of their own.