Palo Alto University (PAU) is a private, nonprofit university located in the heart of Silicon Valley with a singular focus on mental and behavioral health education. For five decades, PAU has been dedicated to addressing pressing and emerging challenges affecting individuals, organizations, and communities, preparing practitioners and scholars to meet the evolving needs of contemporary society. With an enrollment of approximately 1,200 graduate students and a small cohort of undergraduate students, the University offers a comprehensive portfolio of bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional programs delivered through innovative online, hybrid, and residential modalities.
PAU is distinguished by faculty who are nationally and internationally recognized for their contributions to research, teaching, and clinical practice. Through rigorous academic preparation, applied research, and extensive hands-on clinical training, PAU equips students with the knowledge, skills, and professional judgment required for meaningful impact in the behavioral health fields. Together, these elements define PAU’s mission-driven approach to education and its legacy of preparing confident, competent, and compassionate professionals who make a difference in the communities they serve.
The Department of Social Work encompasses a new online Master of Social Work (MSW) program that offers a specialization in Culturally Informed Behavioral Health Practice (CIBH) with two tracks, (a) practice with children and youth in school and community settings and (b) practice with adults in public behavioral health settings. The program’s goal is to graduate students who are competent and culturally sensitive behavioral health practitioners who provide care to underserved populations in urban and rural regions of California. The MSW program is in candidacy for accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA). The program’s website URL is: https://www.paloaltou.edu/academic-programs/master-social-work
Position Description
Position Title:
Teaching Assistant I
Reports To:
Faculty
Department:
Social Work
Status (Hours per week):
Up to 10 hours/week
Start and end dates:
3/30/2026 to 6/22/2026 (Spring 2026)
Position Title:
Teaching Assistant – SOCW 605
Salary:
$20.00 Hourly
General Description:
Graduate Teaching Assistant Duties & Responsibilities may include, but not limited to:
- Support review and assessment of student assignments
- Moderate the classroom environment with technical assistance and organize student learning and engagement
- Facilitate group discussions and activities
- Provide tutoring and hold office hours
- Manage Canvas course, creation of Tasks and Assignments
- Helping with creating/presenting didactics and guest lectures if interested
- Making course materials accessible
- Support proctoring exams
- Creation and presentation of teaching materials
- Carry out duties and responsibilities remotely, except for providing assistance in-person for one day at the start of the quarter during the immersion residency.
Other Duties and Responsibilities:
- Attend the Teaching Assistant Orientation training.
- Other tasks as assigned, including providing assistance for a BBS licensing course in the MSW program.
Qualifications:
- Currently enrolled PhD or PsyD student in good standing at PAU in your 2nd or 3rd year of study.
- Advanced understanding of the subject matter (see course description below)
- Strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills
- Excellent classroom management skills
- Able to create a comfortable learning environment for students
- A strong work ethic, dependable, and ability to prioritize multiple tasks and follow through in a timely manner
- Previous tutoring or teaching experience (preferred qualification).
Application: To apply, please submit the following items combined into one PDF:
- Resume/CV
- Brief cover letter, including information on how your background and experience has prepared you to work at a high level of quality of work with students and co-workers from a variety of different backgrounds.
- Writing sample from a graduate course assignment at PAU
- Unofficial baccalaureate and/or graduate transcripts (optional)
EEOC Policy:
No Discrimination: The University is an equal opportunity employer and is firmly committed to non-discrimination in its hiring and other employment practices and in the application of its personnel policies. In compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, except where a bona fide occupational qualification exists, employment decisions will be made irrespective of the staff member's backgrounds of race, color, religion, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, age (except for minors), sex, marital status, citizenship status, military service status, sexual orientation, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic condition), disability and/or any another status protected by law.
As provided by law, and when it is requested to do so, the University will offer reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities, if the individual is otherwise qualified to safely and to the University's standards of quality of work, perform all essential functions of the position and if it will be done without undue hardship to the University.
PAU has a high-quality work environment that attracts and welcomes a diversity of backgrounds of its employees. In your application or in a cover letter, please include information on how your background and experience has prepared you to work at a high level of quality of work with co-workers from a variety of different backgrounds.
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