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Get Involved

We welcome inquiries from graduate students at Northwestern, TESOL professionals, and community members who are interested in meeting and supporting international students through our programs. To find out how you can get involved, please select one of the tabs below to see more information.

If you are a department representative looking for support for an international student, scholar, or staff member, please see our Advising for Faculty and Staff section for additional information.

PhD and MFA students

Our recruitment period for graduate student positions is typically March through April/May for Summer Quarter and Fall Quarter positions. We have full GA-ships as well as part-time paid volunteer positions.

Graduate & Teaching Assistantships (full tuition and stipend support):
Applications for the AY2026-207 year are open. Visit the Interdisciplinary Graduate Assistantship Portal   for position descriptions and application instructions for the 2026-2027 academic year, or click the link below to see an online flyer. Or check the TGS Interdisciplinary Graduate Assistantships page for more information.

Part-time mentoring/leadership/service positions  (supplemental stipend award):
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 1, 2026
Download position descriptions and flyers by clicking on the links below, or apply at this link:  https://tinyurl.com/ELP-mentor-leader-26 

Online Peer Mentor/Team Lead in ELP Foundations (Summer 2026, part-time)

English Development through Guided Exploration (EDGE) Graduate Leader (Fall 2026, part-time)

Event Guide or Recorded Interviewee for ELP Foundations

Still have questions, or want to get involved before the next recruitment period? Please contact us at elp@northwestern.edu and let us know.

Northwestern Community

ELP welcomes the wider Northwestern community (affiliates) to become involved in our programs. Affiliates include Northwestern faculty, staff, graduate students in masters programs that are not overseen by The Graduate School, undergraduates, research associates, visiting scholars, visiting pre-doctoral fellows and all other Northwestern community members with a NetID. If you are unsure about whether you have affiliate status for ELP services, please contact Brian Hampson at elp@northwestern.edu to arrange an advising appointment (in-person and Zoom options are available for advising).

  • Affiliates who want to get involved may join in our Language Tables, which bring people from around campus together for casual conversation and cultural exchange.  Contact us at elp@northwestern.edu to learn more about any of these opportunities.
  • Affiliates may also sign up for Instruction and Practice Small Groups, if space remains available after registration for the TGS cohort has concluded.

Affiliates do not include spouses and family members of students. Please see our additional resources page for information on programs for family members of students.

Evanston & Chicago Local Community

While English Language Programs is not able to directly host volunteers who wish to support our local international and immigrant communities, there are other local organizations where you may get involved. 

How to get involved:
  • Immigrant Solidarity Team (Unitarian Church of Evanston): Contact via their UCE website.
  • World Relief Chicagoland: Apply to volunteer through their website.
  • Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants: Sign up through the ICDI volunteer page.
  • YWCA Evanston/North Shore: Utilize their community resources guide for local support.

TESOL/SLP Professionals

We are always interested in networking with TESOL professionals, communication coaches, and speech-language pathologists, especially those working in higher education and international student education. Depending on current needs, English Language Programs may have opportunities for affiliate (adjunct) instructors during the academic year and in the summer quarter. We may also be able to include you on our list of local private tutors and individual instructors for members of the Northwestern University community who are looking for private instruction.

Any full-time openings will be posted publicly on the Northwestern University Careers site.

If you are interested in an affiliate faculty position, or if you would like to be added to our list of local private tutors/individual instructors, please email the following information to Assistant Director Brian Hampson at elp@northwestern.edu: contact information, cover letter, curriculum vitae/resumé and names of three professional references.