Undergraduate Course Staff 2 (UCS2) Qualifications

In order to apply to be a UCS2, you must meet the following qualifications:

  1. Good academic standing (i.e., cannot be on academic probation or have more than 2 incomplete grades)
  2. Enrolled in the minimum number of units approved by your college by the second week of classes (this is one week before the regular campus deadline)
  3. Upper Division (i.e., Junior or Senior) status when you begin teaching
  4. Have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, and maintain this GPA during the semester you are teaching
  5. Have previously taken the course, its equivalent, or a more advanced course with a grade of A- or better
  6. Complete the 300-level semester-long pedagogical seminar on teaching during the first semester you teach
  7. (First-time UCS2s): Must attend the Teaching Conference before the beginning of the semester. For future planning purposes, please note that the conference is always held on the Friday before the start of classes in the fall and spring semesters.
  8. (First-time UCS2s): Must complete the GSI Professional Standards and Ethics Online Course by the first day of classes.
  9. (International students who would be First-time UCS2s): Must complete the Language Proficiency Screening Questionnaire (please notify Patrick Hernan at hernan@eecs.berkeley.edu once you have completed the questionnaire).
  10. If you wish to be a UCS2 during Summer Sessions and you are a graduating senior, you must postpone your graduation to August in order to be eligible to hold a summer ASE appointment.

UCS2 Hiring Guidelines

Undergraduate students may be appointed as Undergraduate Course Staff 2s (UCS2s) by exception only. Exceptions may be approved if a department is not able to recruit any qualified graduate students (including graduate students in other departments) or to hire a lecturer to fill an essential GSI (TA) position.

Hiring of Undergraduate Course Staff 2s (UCS2s) is handled by EECS Department staff only after they receive approval for each UCS2 from a faculty member. The vast majority of EECS Undergraduate Course Staff are upper-division students, as determined by their number of semesters at UC Berkeley. However, a small number of students may be recruited to serve as UCS2s earlier in their academic careers.  According to Graduate Division policy, these students must have upper-division standing in terms of the total units on their transcript. These students typically have UCS2 duties that are more limited than UCS2s with prior teaching experience, and their work will be closely monitored.

EECS faculty are encouraged to set guidelines and best practices for selecting UCS2s for their courses. These best practices vary by course but may include:

  • Students with upper-division standing (as determined by non-AP units)
  • Students who have gone previously held either reader or UCS1 positions
  • Students who have gone through a peer identification and review or training process where they are evaluated by a faculty member
  • Students who have attained a certain letter grade in the course

Students can also refer to the GSI Teaching and Resource Center as an additional resource.