Many postdocs are keen to get involved with teaching at the University, and there are a number of different opportunities to do that.
Teaching students at the University of Cambridge
Finding opportunities to teach undergraduates at the University typically requires you to be proactive and make approaches to those responsible for teaching in departments and Colleges.
You may be able to contribute to teaching in departments beyond your own, where there are related topics – you can find the full timetable of lectures in all subjects here.
Undergraduates at Cambridge are taught in two ways:
- Lectures – these are organised in departments, contact your department’s teaching office or the academic responsible for teaching in your department to ask about opportunities to deliver lectures.
- Supervisions (teaching groups of 2-6 students) – these are primarily organised by Colleges, contact Directors of Studies in Colleges or lecturers in your department to ask about opportunities to run supervisions.
Further teaching opportunities/resources
Cambridge University Press and Assessment and the University of Cambridge are now recruiting for online course tutors for their partnership, Cambridge Advance Online.
They are seeking subject matter experts in a number of disciplinary areas. See details below for current recruitment calls.
How does it work?
Courses begin with a 1-week orientation module, followed by a 6-week teaching period, and conclude with 2 weeks dedicated to marking and issuing certificates at the end of the course.
The courses will run four times a year around January, April, July and September. You do not need to commit to all four teaching periods. You will join a pool of tutors, and turnover among tutors may take place.
The time commitment for course tutors is approximately 10-12 hours per week.
The remuneration for each run of the course will be £4,000.
Current tutor recruitment calls:
Climate Change for Decision-Makers - apply by 1 September
Generative AI in Business - apply by 1 September
Developments in Cancer Immunotherapy - apply by 1 September
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Dr Lauren Dooley, Tutor Coordinator, on uoc.online.tutors@cambridge.org.
The Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) runs courses for those working towards a degree, mid-career professionals, international students, and lifelong and later life learners.
ICE courses are taught by a panel of tutors, including Cambridge academics, academics from other universities, and professional experts.
Paid Teaching Opportunities
A new open access level-4 60-credit fully-online certificate in Ecology and Conservation.
Hourly-paid tutoring assignments are available for University of Cambridge postdocs with expertise in the field.
Experienced tutors and those new to teaching in higher education will be considered. Early career teachers will be offered mentoring and support in lesson planning and delivery.
Please send an up-to-date professional CV and a brief expression of interest to ICE Tutor Recruitment at your earliest convenience.
An open access level-4 120-credit certificate of higher education in Pre-Medical Studies.
Hourly-paid tutoring assignments are available for University of Cambridge postdocs with expertise in the chemistry, particularly aspects relevant to medicine / biomedicine. Familiarity with A-level chemistry syllabuses would be advantageous.
Experienced tutors and those new to teaching in higher education will be considered. Early career teachers will be offered mentoring and support in lesson planning and delivery.
Please send an up-to-date professional CV and a brief expression of interest to ICE Tutor Recruitment at your earliest convenience.
The Brilliant Club is an award-winning university access charity. They recruit and train PhD students and postdocs to support less advantaged school pupils to access the most competitive universities and succeed when they get there.
Working for The Brilliant Club will help develop your teaching skills, your ability to communicate your research to non-specialist audiences, and your understanding of fair access to university.
Once trained, you will be paid to deliver academically rigorous programmes to small groups of pupils in state schools in England and Wales.
How does it work?
Tutors create a course based on their own academic research, pitched at pupils in Key Stage 4 or 5. You also have the opportunity to deliver a pre-designed programme to younger pupils aged 8-10.
Both courses are delivered in university-style tutorials to groups of 7.
Tutors indicate their availability each term, to allow you to fit the programme in with your other commitments.
Placements are paid from £572 per placement, with an additional £124 for designing a Scholars Programme course (plus London weighting). Travel expenses are also paid.
How to apply
To apply, complete this application form.
For more information, register to attend an online information event.
If you have any queries, please get in touch via apply@thebrilliantclub.org.
The Bioinformatics Training Facility of the School of Biological Sciences offers a broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate hands-on training courses, focused on bioinformatics and computational biology.
These training activities aim at enabling life scientists to effectively handle and interpret biological data.
These are mainly taught by researchers from the University of Cambridge, with contributions from collaborators from bioinformatics institutes in Cambridge and further afield.
They are always looking for postdocs who are working in bioinformatics and are interested in developing training skills.
Interested postdocs can join their existing pool of trainers, and contribute to delivering existing courses, as well as propose new courses, based on their interests.
Please contact the Bioinformatics Team for more information.
The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is seeking postdocs for teaching opportunities on the global sustainability challenges facing business (including finance), society and the built environment.
The opportunities are primarily for supervising and tutoring on part-time postgraduate courses for mid-career professionals.
Individuals should have some experience of working in or with business, or with the built environment, and will be able to articulate the systemic nature of the sustainability challenges that we face.
The Institute is seeking to enlarge its pool of supervisors for the MSt in Sustainability Leadership for both Business and the Built Environment, and would be pleased to hear from you if your research is of relevance (or transferable) to some aspect of the sustainability agenda.
In addition, the Institute is seeking tutors to lead students through the shorter assignments on the Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business and the MSt Sustainability Leadership.
Please email masters@cisl.cam.ac.uk and attach a CV if you would like to discuss upcoming opportunities at the Institute.
The Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning (CCTL) supports staff who teach at the University by providing training, developing networks, and funding innovation.
CCTL provides workshops on different aspects of teaching, as well as accredited educational development programmes at a range of levels for those who teach Cambridge students.
Find out more about their workshops and programmes