Dean's Awards for Teaching Excellence

Overview

The Dean’s Awards for Teaching Excellence recognize stellar instructional efforts by graduate students and help cultivate the next generation of leaders in the classroom. Several awards will be made across the disciplines. Each recipient will receive a monetary prize, a certificate, and recognition in their graduation program.

Winners of the award demonstrate innovation in the classroom, display advanced pedagogical skills, and develop new materials/lessons that have significant impacts on student learning and engagement.

To submit a nomination, please complete the form in the “Nomination” section on this page. For eligibility guidelines, please see “Nomination Guidelines

Nomination Guidelines

We seek to reward excellence in teaching in a variety of instructional settings and at a range of different course levels. Each department or program may nominate up to two graduate student instructors engaged in a mentored teaching experience. If a department/program submits two nominations, one nomination should be for courses at the 1000-2000 level and one nomination should be for courses at the 3000-5000 level. Additional nomination guidelines are as follows:

The student must be enrolled full time as a graduate student in any A&S graduate program during the 2024-2025 academic year.
The student must be in good academic standing and making progress in the degree program.
During the calendar year 2024 (SP24 & FL24), the student must have had significant responsibility for student instruction in a regularly scheduled course in Arts & Sciences.
The level of teaching performance achieved by the student must be viewed by the department or program as exemplary.

Competitive nominations demonstrate why the student’s teaching performance is considered exemplary within the discipline/department. Successful candidates have often used innovative pedagogy in the classroom or developed new learning tools, and the nomination form includes an area for including examples of these. The nomination can be supported by and offer input from multiple members of the department involved in the teaching mission.

Awards will be announced in late spring.