Pedagogical Training for Graduate Students

The College of Arts and Science considers instruction and practice in teaching to be an essential part of the research training our doctoral students receive. This policy establishes the guidelines for graduate students to receive essential guidance and experience in the pedagogical training and teaching they perform within the college by applying the knowledge and skills they have gained from their research in a classroom setting.

POLICY and PROCEDURE

Through the transmittal of knowledge via good pedagogical practice, our graduate students’ research also benefits from enhanced skill in communication, critique, and organization. For these reasons, it is essential that all College of Arts & Science doctoral students engage in teaching experiences under the supervision of their departments. Teaching experiences may include serving as teaching assistants, section leaders, laboratory instructors, graders, or, with the proper training and under the proper supervision, instructors of record for undergraduate classes.

Teaching experiences may also come as part of a teaching practicum course offered by the graduate student’s department or certificate program. Because students in practicum courses are both receiving training relevant to careers in research and applying their research training in a teaching role, both their practicum course participation and the teaching experiences they have as part of these courses can be reasonably considered to be a part of the overall effort on grants, assuming that such teaching practice has been (a) codified in the program’s graduate student guidelines and expectations, and (b) approved by the Dean of Graduate Education and Research.

BUDGET JUSTIFICATION FOR SPONSORED PROJECTS

When Graduate Student Research Assistants are at least partially budgeted on federal or non-federal externally sponsored projects, the following text is recommended to be included in the requisite budget justification (as an addendum to the explanation of the graduate student’s effort on the project) at the time an application (proposal) is officially submitted to the external sponsor:

Consistent with the College of Arts & Science’s established policy, effort of Graduate Student Research Assistants budgeted herein may include additional professional preparation via a practicum course that involves both seminar participation as well as supervised practical application of the student's research training in a teaching role.