Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (PGTA) - BSc Sociology Programme
Ref Number B Professional Expertise Teaching, Teaching Support and Examination Support Department School of Education (B16) Location London Working Pattern Part time Salary £36,433 £41,833 Contract Type Fixed term Working Type On site Available for Secondment No Closing Date 31 May 2026
About us
About UCL Institute of Education
Founded in 1902, UCL Institute of Education has been shaping policy and helping government, organisations and individuals navigate a changing society for the last 120 years. We embrace collaboration and excellence to create a future that is inclusive and just and have been ranked number one for education every year since 2014 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.
The department of Education, Practice and Society (EPS) has specialists from a wide variety of disciplines including history, sociology and philosophy who undertake research to support education throughout the life course by contributing to economic, social and political debate as well as development in societies, nationally and internationally.
The department pioneers research collaborations with external partners to diversify the contribution that educational research can make academically, professionally and practically for individuals and communities.
The work of the department strives to provide solutions to current and emerging pressure points in societies, such as economic change and social injustice, by creating networks and partnerships to support knowledge transfer between education, work and communities.
The department of Education, Practice and Society has an exciting research portfolio of projects.
About the role
The posts are open to current registered UCL Post Graduate Research students only.
The Department of EPS wishes to make appointments for Postgraduate Teaching Assistants for the Autumn and Spring terms, academic year for the BSc Sociology:
- Urban Sociology (94 hours). This 2nd year module takes place in Term 1.
- Identities (94 hours). This 2nd year module takes place in Term 2.
- Sociology of Media (94 hours). This first year module takes place in Term 2.
The purpose of this job is to support teaching and learning in our BSc Sociology modules. This will involve working with the academic module leads to deliver small group teaching for students taking the above modules in the EPS Department.
Main duties of the posts are to support the teaching and learning on one of three modules: 'Urban Sociology', 'Identities' and 'Sociology of Media'. All modules engage with contemporary sociological thinking, including on issues such as urbanisation, how individuals and groups think about themselves and others and where they belong in the world, and the role of media and social change.
Teaching Assistants will be given training in support of their roles.
These roles are available from September 2026 to UCL Post Graduate Research (PGR) students who are registered from September 2026. The length of the contract will depend on the length of the applicant's doctoral studies and will be determined at appointment stage.
Please be aware that students may only be employed up to 180 hours in total as a PGTA across all UCL programmes. Please only apply if you do NOT have a PGTA contract elsewhere in UCL. If you are successful in being appointed as a PGTA on the BSc Sociology Programme, you will NOT be able to work as a PGTA on any other programme at UCL.
About you
You are currently a UCL PGR student, or registered as a UCL PGR student from September 2026, and not already working as a PGTA on any other UCL programme or intending to do so in the academic year.
The postholder will be educated to Masters degree level (or having equivalent experience) in a Sociology related field and working towards a relevant postgraduate degree (PhD). You have specialist knowledge appropriate to the module taught and have the ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing, with students, academic and support staff at all levels. In addition, you have the ability to work independently for short periods and as part of a team, recognising when advice / input needs to be sought.
Your application form should address all the person specification points and should clearly demonstrate how your skills and experience meet each of the criteria.
It is important that the criteria are clearly numbered and that you provide a response to each one.
Please make sure that you state clearly in your application which module(s) you feel that you could teach on. It may not be possible to offer you a position on your preferred module.
Please include your CV and do not submit anything else (including examples of your work, references etc).
Benefits
Annual leave: 27 days of annual leave plus six closure days at Christmas and Easter (pro rata for part time staff) as well as statutory holidays.
Work life balance: We facilitate flexible working such as flexitime, annualised hours, term time working, shift working, staggered hours, job share / job splitting, part time working, compressed hours, career breaks and planned.
People development: Colleagues have access to a comprehensive range of training programmes and development opportunities that are organised by our department.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
UCL benefits and policies apply equally, whatever your sexual orientation or gender identity.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
IOE holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.
EDI Networks: Our staff equalities networks are open to all staff. They are places where people with shared identities and backgrounds can connect with colleagues and make positive change across the university.
Information on various types of equality, including disability, race, gender, sexual orientation and religion, as well as the various charter marks UCL adheres to, is available upon request.
