Austrian English Teaching Assistantship
Who Can Apply: US Citizens – Graduating Seniors, Recent Grads – GPA of 3.0 or higher is recommended – All Majors – German language ability at the intermediate or higher level is required.
Description: Since 1963, this program has provided college and university graduates with opportunities to work at secondary schools throughout Austria as teaching assistants. U.S. teaching assistants not only enhance the instruction of English as native speakers; they also are important resource persons for first hand information about the "American way of life" and representatives of the U. S. Teaching assistants are assigned to one or two Austrian secondary schools and required to assist teachers of English in classroom instruction 13 hours per week. Applicants should have at least a Bachelor's degree and be interested in careers in education. Prospective teachers of German or TESOL and/or graduates with a documented interest in Austrian studies are particularly encouraged to apply. A working knowledge of German is required and necessary to facilitate classroom work.
Award Amount: Teaching assistants currently receive a monthly gross salary of € 1,440 from which deductions for mandatory compulsory health and accident insurance and Austrian income tax are made, resulting in a net salary of ca. € 1,162. Teaching assistants do not receive any additional support for travel to Austria or for dependents.
Duration: U.S. teaching assistants are employed from October 1 - May 31 of the school year. They are required to attend an orientation seminar held during the last week of September before beginning their assignments.
National Deadline: TBA
The Austrian Ministry of Education, the Arts and Culture works together with provincial school boards to place approximately 130 U.S. teaching assistants at schools in all nine Austrian provinces. Applicants may request city or region to which they wish to be assigned. However, the number of teaching positions available in larger metropolitan areas, such as Vienna, Salzburg, Graz, and Innsbruck, is limited. Therefore applicants also should be prepared to accept teaching positions in smaller communities.
Program Preferences: One of the major goals of this program is to give future German teachers in the U.S. some excellent teaching experience, so applicants considering this career path should clearly indicate their plans.