General GRAD 701 Course Information

GRAD 701 supports the teaching skill development of graduate students through training sessions and workshops directly applicable to TA/IA responsibilities. The course provides a wide variety of interactive workshops for graduate students to learn fundamental teaching pedagogy, relevant and useful teaching techniques, important professional development skills, and the opportunity to interact with other GTA/IAs across the university.

• 1-semester, zero-credit course (no tuition), pass-fail grading.
• Registration for GRAD 701 occurs through my.sc.edu during USC's open registration (see registration information below).
• Students are required to complete a minimum of four professional development activities. A wide variety of activities are provided from which students can choose to fulfill this requirement:
  • GRAD 701-specific sessions [pdf]
  • Center for Teaching Excellence workshops, webinars, and other opportunities for professional development throughout the semester
  • Campus partner trainings (Safe Zone Ally, Carolina Intercultural Training, Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training, etc.)
  • Previously recorded workshops on the  CTE YouTube Channel
  • Teaching workshops offered through the academic unit (note that these must be related to teaching and approved in advance by the TA Training Program Manager)
• Satisfactory course completion requires submission of a reflection activity assignment for each of the four activities the student completed.
• Course administration and submission of assignments occurs via Blackboard.
• GTA/IAs who do not complete the course requirements will be assigned an "Unsatisfactory" (Failing) grade which will be permanently recorded on their transcript, and Graduate Directors will be notified that this student has not met the TA Training requirements.

GRAD 701 Registration and Special Departmental Sections


GRAD 701 registration occurs through my.sc.edu. Please note that certain sections of GRAD 701 are restricted to students from specific academic units which have developed specialized GRAD 701-equivalent TA Training programs.

GRAD 701 Section registration restrictions (only students enrolled in designated departments or colleges can register for Sections 003-006):

• Section 001: General registration – open to all departments
• Section 004: English Department Writing Center GIA Tutors only
• Section 005: Chemistry and Biochemistry GIAs only
• Section 006: Biology GIAs only
• Section 007: Theatre GIAs only (if offered)

Approved GRAD 701-Equivalent Departmental Courses

Certain departments offer Graduate School-approved instructional training courses that can be used in lieu of GRAD 701 to fulfill this portion of the TA Training requirement. Please contact your Graduate Director or Program Coordinator for more information if your department has a GRAD 701-equivalent course listed below.

• The Graduate School has approved the following departmental courses as GRAD 701-equivalent: EDCE 830, EDHE 738, EDHE 834, ENCP 701, ENGL 691, FORL 776, HRTM 798/890, ISCI 804, JOUR 805, LING 795, MATH 791/792, PHIL 790, PHYS 700, SPTE 801
• Registration for these courses occurs through my.sc.edu during open registration.
• Certain courses are offered only in fall or spring semesters.  If you begin your GTA/GIA in a semester when your departmental course is not being offered, you will need to enroll in the general GRAD 701 section.

GTA/IA Orientation

Graduate Teaching and Instructional Assistants must participate in GTA/IA Orientation prior to assuming their instructional responsibilities. The university-wide GTA/IA Orientation is separate from GRAD 701.