Application form:
Download the Graduate Student Teaching Award Form.
Essential Details:
The department will give two awards on an annual basis for teaching by graduate students.
The deadline for the 2023-2024 award will be the start of the Spring 2025 semester.
The Award:
Departmental Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Philosophy: This award is for excellence in teaching philosophy, inclusive of the diverse areas and methodologies within the discipline.
A small financial prize may be attached to each award up to $100 at the discretion of the Chair of the Philosophy Department as funding may be available.
Inaugural Award Granting:
For the first, and only for the first, selection to grant the awards, candidates will be selected for both the present and the prior year. For instance, if the 2017-18 academic year is the first year for the granting of the award, four total awards will also be granted. In the selection procedure, the four winners for the award will be the top four vote getters, and the particular year for each will be decided at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies (or agent thereof). All future awards will be granted merely for that year.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Currently in the Philosophy Ph.D. Program in good standing.
- Students become eligible for the award at the start of the 4th year in the PhD Program.
- Must have taught, as instructor of record, at least two courses (tokens, not necessarily types) for our department.
- Student must submit a self-nomination indicating that they wish to be considered for an award. The student should submit (a) a completed application form (available at the link above); (b) sample syllabi for each course taught; (c) course evaluations for each course taught; (d) any additional documents the student wishes as further evidence of their excellence in teaching, such as a teaching statement, sample assignments, notes from students, etc. The student should notify faculty members who have visited his or her courses to have peer reviews submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies.
Selection Procedure:
- The Director of Graduate Studies (or agent thereof) will, via email, solicit self-nominations from the graduate students with indication of the eligibility requirements.
- Reports from faculty observations of teaching currently on record will be added to the applications from the students.
- A department-elected subcommittee of 3 faculty members will lead the evaluation process. Any other (regular, philosophy) faculty member may also elect to participate in the evaluation process. Each member of the selection committee will submit a complete ranking of the candidates for the award in question to the Director of Graduate Studies (or agent thereof), and selection will be made by simple Borda Count method (that is, via points inversely proportionate to rank).
- The winners will be announced by the Director of Graduate Studies (or agent thereof).
- Any further matters of procedure, such as the dates for nominations and votes, will be set as needed at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies (or agent thereof).
Selection Criteria:
Candidates will be selected with special consideration of evidence that their teaching:
- Is effective at helping students develop the array of intellectual and academic skills of the discipline, as well as understanding of the particular issues and material of the course.
- Produces ongoing engagement with the department and philosophy in general, as by generating new majors.
- Quantity, including number and variety of courses, and number of students.
In addition, significant preference will be given to candidates who have not received the award previously.