Applications for the Provost Doctoral Teaching Fellowship for the 2016-17 academic year are being accepted. This opportunity will introduce doctoral students to teaching practices used in higher education and better prepare them for careers in college-level teaching.
The Office of Academic Affairs and the Center for Teaching and Learning, in collaboration with the University’s doctoral programs and the Graduate School, are offering this fellowship. The deadline for Ph.D. students to apply is Monday, Feb. 15.
Tracy Rock, associate professor of elementary education and a faculty fellow in the Center for Teaching and Learning, will work closely with students chosen to receive the Provost Doctoral Teaching Fellowship.
"This program provides doctoral students with the opportunity to receive instruction, feedback and mentoring from award-winning faculty as they actively teach a course at the University,” said Rock. “They gain confidence in their teaching skills and abilities as they prepare for positions in higher education."
The Center for Teaching and Learning previously had a professional development program for doctoral students. This fellowship builds upon its predecessor with some significant changes – doctoral students who receive the fellowship can engage in teaching seminars with CTL or take the Center for Graduate Life course GRAD 8001; participants will be required to have a graduate assistantship through their department and will earn a $5,000 stipend in addition to the graduate assistantship funding.
Melissa Medaugh, a Ph.D. student in organizational science, and Hannah Peach, a lecturer in psychology, participated in professional development programs offered by the CTL in 2015. They each taught a class under the supervision of a CTL faculty fellow.
Medaugh said such a program prepares future Ph.D. recipients for a balanced academic life, which includes a mandate to excel as both a high-quality researcher and educator.
“My doctoral training naturally prepares me to be a better researcher, but I realized there existed a clear skills gap that I needed to fill in order to be effective at teaching, as well,” stated Medaugh.
For Peach, the instruction provided by CTL was essential in helping her become a more effective instructor. It provided “crucial information for developing strategies and techniques within the classroom, as well as how to formulate a teaching philosophy – the driving force of who we are as instructors and what our goals are for our students. The emphasis on fostering one’s approach to lecturing, learning, evaluating and assessing was incredible.”
Learn more about the Provost Doctoral Teaching Fellowship online.