Tutoring Opportunities

This page is in the process of being updated ahead of the Tutor Call for Semester 1, 2026-27, which is due to open on the 4th May 2026.

Tutoring positions within the School of Social and Political Science are guaranteed hours (GH), fixed-term posts. These posts are classed with the School as Student Experience positions. This is to ensure that our current PhD students have ample opportunity to development their teaching skills during their degree.

Current PhD students are therefore prioritised before any other applicants. We have three hiring categories that are used in the recruitment and allocation process, as follows (in order of priority):

Category 1- Current UoE PhD student with an existing SPS GH tutoring contract
Category 2 - Current UoE PhD student without an existing SPS GH tutoring contract
Category 3 - External Applicant (not a current PhD student)

Anyone interested in tutoring within SPS for the 2026-27 academic year must apply via the application form signposted below, regardless of their current category.

Key things to note before applying

Please read our Guide to the Tutoring Application Form before completing your application - this covers many of our FAQs and allows you to see the whole form in advance.
Our tutor call is a competitive process and not all applicants will receive an offer of work.
All current PhD students must attest to having the support of their PhD supervisor, and must have completed one year of their studies, before applying to tutor.
If you do not currently have a contract to tutor with the School of Social and Political Science, you must prove your right to work in the UK.
You should expect to be available for the entire duration of the semester for which you are applying to tutor. Tutors must be based in Edinburgh, or able to commute to Edinburgh, as teaching is delivered in-person and on-campus (with the exception of online courses). Additionally, marking may be required after teaching has concluded.

Note: Semester dates for the 2026-27 academic year can be found here: Academic Year 2026-27

Full-time PhD Students: The University mandates that full-time students can undertake a maximum of 396 hours of work per academic year (averaging to 9 hours per week across 44 weeks). If you hold other positions across the University or externally, those hours must also be considered when assessing your capacity to tutor. Visa restrictions may also apply.
Applicants will be considered and allocated using a consistent set of criteria, listed below. Please note that meeting this criteria does not guarantee an offer of work.
- alignment between the applicant’s PhD subject area and the course
- whether the applicant meets any defined skills or competency requirements
- hiring category (with current SPS PGR students prioritised)
- previous tutoring experience on the course (where applicable)
- applicant preferences

Note: An average of 2-3 tutorial groups per tutor will be allocated, with a maximum of 6 groups across the academic year. This is to ensure there are opportunities for as many applicants as possible to receive an offer of work.

Key things to note when completing your application

You will be asked to select your hiring category. You should consider your status at the start of Semester One - September 2026 (as this may be different than your status at the time of submission). If you are unsure about which category applies, please feel free to get in touch.
You will be asked to list their preferences for courses, and to submit one file containing your CV, a cover letter, and any other relevant qualifications. The cover letter should clearly evidence any skills or experience relevant to your application and the courses you have applied for.
We expect our tutors to demonstrate a good standard of transferable skills such as organisation, time management, effective communication, teamwork and working under a supervisor. Please ensure that you clearly demonstrate these skills in your Cover Letter.

For details on pay, please see the documents in the Guidance for Tutors section.

Application Details and How to Apply

Course Vacancy List

Please use the link below to view the current vacancies available for SPS courses starting in Semester 1, 2026-27. Each course will detail its payment model, expectation of marking, and any required skills for applicants.

2025-26 Semester 2 SPS Tutor Vacancies

Please note: if you are an external applicant, you may have issues viewing this spreadsheet. To request a downloaded version of the spreadsheet, please email sps.tutoring@ed.ac.uk

Application Form + Supporting Documents

Please ensure you complete the correct application form

SPS Tutoring Application Form - for current students or staff at the University of Edinburgh

SPS Tutoring Application Form - for external applicants

As part of this application form you will be asked to submit one file (in Word or PDF). This should contain your CV, cover letter, and any other relevant qualifications/certificates.

You should clearly demonstrate in your cover letter evidence of your transferable skills (as listed above) as well as evidence of any specialist skills or expertise required for courses you are applying for, including alternative vacancies in any subject areas other than your own.

If you have not previously held a tutoring contract with SPS, you will also need to complete the Appointee Information Form, and send this to spshr@exseed.ed.ac.uk

Appointee Information Form (new tutors only)

You may also need to complete a right to work check - details of this will be provided in your offer email.

Privacy Statement: For information on how we use your data, how long we keep it for and if we share it with third parties, please refer to the applicant privacy notice

Allocation Process

From 2026-27 onwards, allocation of tutors to courses will take place in two rounds. Allocation in each round will follow the framework criteria as listed above, with final approval from the relevant Head of Subject Area.

Category 1 and 2 applicants only will be considered, and where applicable, offered work in the first round.
Category 3 applicants will only be considered in the second round.

Any category 1 and 2 applicants who do not receive an offer in the first round will be considered ahead of Category 3 applicants in the second round.

Applicants will have 7 days to respond to any offer of work. We would be grateful if you can respond to your offer as soon as possible, as this will help us in completing further allocations for any vacancies before the start of semester.

Recruitment Timeline

Key roles:
SDO - Student Development Office
TL - Tutor Liaison
HoSA - Head of Subject Area
TO - Teaching Office
CO - Course Organisers

Date	Action	Role
SEMESTER 1 CALL – SUMMER 2026
4th May – 22nd May	S1 Tutor Call opens.	SDO
12th June	Round 1 initial allocation completed.	SDO
15th June onwards	Review of round 1 allocation, including assessment of specific skills requirements or subject expertise for relevant courses.	TL/HoSA
26th June	Confirmation of round 1 allocation.	HoSA
29th June	Final check of confirmed allocations.	SDO
w/c 6th July	Round 1 offers issued to tutors, with 7 days to respond. HR and TO notified.	SDO
Early July	Process begins for raising new GH contracts, or sending GH refresh letters to existing tutors.	HR
Mid-July	Round 2 initial allocation completed.	SDO
w/c 27th July	Review of round 2 allocation, including assessment of specific skills requirements or subject expertise for relevant courses.	TL/HoSA
31st July	Confirmation of round 2 allocation.	HoSA
w/c 3rd August	Round 2 offers sent to tutors, with 7 days to respond. HR and TO notified.	SDO
August	Remaining vacancies allocated and offered on an ad-hoc basis.	SDO, approval by HoSA.
w/c 7th September	Details of confirmed tutors shared with TO and COs.	SDO
21st September	Semester 1 teaching commences.

Teaching Office