Paid Work Positions at U of T
Generally, 12 hours per week of paid work is the maximum average recommended for graduate students.
Research Assistantships (RA)
Some OT faculty will recruit OT students to act as their Research Assistants. The faculty member would generally advertise these positions on the OT website and students can additionally check with the Career Centre for job openings. If a student is interested in working as an RA, they are advised to email their CV to the relevant Professor during the summer months, with a brief cover message.
Teaching Assistantships (TA)
Teaching Assistant positions at U of T are generally offered first to U of T graduate students and may involve conducting tutorials, grading undergraduate essays or exams, and acting as a resource person for undergraduate students. To learn about available positions, a student should write directly to the Business Manager of the department concerned providing full particulars of their academic training and experience. Alternatively, the student could visit the department as the positions should be posted, generally in the spring. In the Department of OT, these positions are not available to current MScOT students for various reasons such as confidentiality.
Work-Study Program
Once the minimum balance of fees is paid / deferred, students are considered registered and can apply for part-time work at the University through the Work-Study Program. A Declaration of Eligibility / Hiring Form to Admissions and Awards which can be requested from the OT Business Manager. This program and other work opportunities are made available through the Career Centre on campus: http://www.careers.utoronto.ca/.
Students doing work-study for the first time while in the OT program will need to meet with the Business Manager to have a payroll record set up. In order to do so, he/she requires a copy of the student’s letter of acceptance into the Work-Study Program from Admissions and Awards. This letter is sent to the student after the Declaration of Eligibility/Hiring form has been processed. A copy of the Declaration, as well as a blank cheque marked “VOID,” is required to set up direct deposits to the student’s bank account. If the student is a “returning” student for whom the Business Manager has already set up a payroll record, he/she does not need to see the Business Manager unless there have been personal information changes, particularly address or bank account number. However, he/she would need a copy of the student’s acceptance into the current work-study position.
