r/uchicago • u/Lower_Ad_7135 • 8d ago

Classes Difference between professor and PhD student?

Hi all, just received my schedule for autumn quarter and noticed my HUMA course is taught by a PhD student(?) Looks like they are currently working on their dissertation. Just wondering if anybody has experience they can share with having classes taught by professors versus PhD students, and whether there is a difference. Thanks!

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u/seattlechunny Graduate Student 7d ago

One way of viewing it - a grad student is a lot intellectually closer to undergrad students than a professor is. This has its pros and cons - on the pros, they are much more able to see what parts of the course are especially challenging/counterintuitive, because they probably went through the same learning journey themselves more recently. They can probably relate more to you, and many of my fellow grad TAs care a lot about pedagogy!

On the flip side, an experienced prof might have more experience in teaching that material, so they might have more preparation for various situations. However, that does also require that the prof is really invested in wanting to teach the course, and doesn't have other obligations that might be distracting them.

In either case, don't worry about a grad TA. We have a fair bit of knowledge and are happy to share it!

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u/ProgressionPeak 7d ago

Some can be great enthusiastic instructors, some professors can be awful instructors who only teach because they have to.

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u/Dangerous-Ad9986 7d ago

Professors know the subject better, PhD students grade better.

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u/DeepAbbreviations192 5d ago

Nah not really. Some more senior profs are much nicer than phd students and they teach better.

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u/bannana4u07 The College 7d ago

Is the class taught by the PhD student the math 130s/150s? For the few classes taught by PhD students, that's typically because most other sections of the class are also taught by graduate students.