The information below is applicable if you are applying in July-August but if you are interested at other times of the year, please contact Dr Jenny Barnes (jenny.barnes@physics.ox.ac.uk) directly to see what is available. We are especially interested to hear from senior academics or experienced post-docs at any time of the academic year.
The Department of Physics Teaching Laboratories are now recruiting demonstrators for the next academic year. Demonstrating can be a valuable opportunity to gain teaching skills, learn some new physics and make useful contacts, all whilst earning a bit of extra cash (currently £17.81/hr). Note there’s not only lab-work but also Matlab and Python in our Computing and Data Analysis classes. If the teaching labs are new to you, more information can be found at https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/study/undergraduates/what-expect and on the Physics Staff intranet.
Lab hours are usually 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm, although this can vary depending on the specific lab. The typical commitment is 3-3.5 hours (1 shift) per week, but more is usually possible. You must have the legal right to work in the UK and this will be checked by HR before you start work. If you are a graduate student, please check with your supervisor that they are happy for to you to demonstrate before signing up. We ask people to commit to demonstrating in a specific lab for the entire academic year if possible.
All new demonstrators for 2026-27 must complete some compulsory (paid) training:
a) complete an online Canvas course which is expected to take around 2-3 hours
b) attend two half days of lectures on the mornings of 29th and 30th September 2026 (Preparing for Learning and Teaching at Oxford or PLTO)
c) training on the experiments in the Physics Department on 30th September and before term starts (week -1 and week 0). We expect you to put in the equivalent of 2 full days of training before the start of term (12th October).
The above training (especially a) and c)) is compulsory and if you believe that you will not be able to attend these sessions, please let us know when you sign up. The PLTO (b) will occur in person in the Physics Department. Certain labs will run c) remotely but most training will be in person. You will be paid to complete the Canvas course, attend the PLTO and for time spent training on the experiments.
We plan to run all labs in person, with the exception of Data Analysis and Computing which will run online. We ask people to commit to demonstrating in a specific lab for the entire academic year if possible. All the lab scripts can be found at https://www-teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk/practical_course/scripts/ if you want to see the type of practical work we ask the students to complete in each lab.
If you are interested and can commit to the training required, please sign up using the form here: Oxford Physics Demonstrator Call 2026-27
You don't have to be in the Physics Department to demonstrate, so please forward this to anybody else you know who may be interested.
If you have any queries about demonstrating please do get in touch with Physics Teaching Laboratory Manager: jenny.barnes@physics.ox.ac.uk