DPES Teaching Fellows Program

DPES Teaching Fellows Program (DPES-TFP)

Objective: The program is designed for exceptional senior Ph.D. students or Postdoctoral Fellows, who are excelling in research and have an interest in developing instructional skills for their future careers as academics. The successful applicant will work together with a DPES faculty member to develop an original set of lectures, tutorials, or a new laboratory exercise for an undergraduate DPES course. The fellow will be directly mentored by his/her faculty partner in this endeavor. The objective of this program is to provide a high quality learning experience in developing pedagogical tools that would benefit our graduate students/post-doctoral fellows in their future careers and to directly enhance the quality of instruction currently in the department. Additional activities will include participation in the Teaching Assistants’ Training Program (TATP), where participants can develop their teaching philosophy statements. Participation in DPES-TFP will be for one term.

Award: Recipient of the award will receive a $2,000 Teaching Fellowship. Successful participants in DPES-TFP will receive a certificate of completion.

Application Process: Applicants are expected to develop a short (up to 2 pages) proposal that clearly enunciates the pedagogical activity that will be developed in the DPES-TFP. Interested students should approach a faculty member to discuss potential activities and together prepare the proposal. Since teaching is inherently a creative activity, the primary criterion will be the novelty of the proposal along the quality of the overall presentation. The proposal should include specifics regarding the course, lecture or lab topics/activities, faculty involvement, how success in the project will be measured, and the career goals of the applicant. Proposed activities should represent between 45 and 55 hours of effort. The applicant’s CV should be attached to the proposal. Any other material should directly enhance the overall persuasiveness of the proposal. Proposals can be for either Winter or Summer term.