Description of the Program

The University of New Hampshire’s academic programs in college teaching prepare students for academic teaching positions. The programs are collaborative ventures of the Graduate School, the Center for Teaching Excellence and many academic programs and departments at the university. Two programs for doctoral students – a 12 credit Cognate in College Teaching and a 32 credit Master of Science for Teachers (M.S.T.) – may be added to any of our PhD programs. A 12 credit Graduate Certificate in College Teaching for faculty, post-docs, and doctoral students from other colleges and universities is also offered.

The master’s and cognate each have a set of core requirements offered by the college teaching program faculty; field and disciplinary courses related to teaching in their specific area of graduate study offered by disciplinary faculty; and a teaching praxis which includes multiple teaching experiences as well as the development of a teaching portfolio under the supervision of a teaching committee composed of college teaching and disciplinary faculty.

The Graduate Certificate in College Teaching is designed to enhance the effectiveness of college teaching. Two tracks are available – a track for experienced college and university faculty and a track for individuals prepare for an academic career, such as doctoral and post-doctoral students. All classes are available electronically. Five 2-credit courses are used to develop core competencies; all students then complete a capstone experience for an additional 2 credits. For doctoral and post-doctoral students, the capstone is a teaching praxis. For current faculty, this experience includes the development and or review of a course portfolio.

Outcomes of the Program

Doctoral students from a variety of STEM disciplines have participated in this program. The departments represented include: animal and nutritional sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, engineering, genetics, mathematics, microbiology, natural resources, physics, plant biology, and zoology. Core course work is completed over 2 or 3 summers in the Summer Institute on College Teaching, while field and disciplinary course work is completed during the academic year. Students typically enroll at the end of their first year of doctoral work, and are awarded the cognate or the M.S.T. in college teaching when they complete their doctoral degrees.

Of the 55 UNH doctoral students who have completed or are now enrolled in the cognate in college teaching program, 24 are from STEM fields. Six of the 26 recipients of the M.S.T. in college teaching come from STEM departments.

Participants report that the program has contributed to their “teaching readiness.” That is, they consider themselves prepared to teach and feel confident that they will be effective teachers. This preparedness is reflected in the placement rate for graduates of our academic programs in college teaching: 100% of our alumni who have sought academic positions are currently employed in either postdoctoral or faculty positions. By comparison, 46% of non-participating doctoral students are currently employed at a college or university.

In addition to preparing graduate students to become effective teachers, the UNH program has had a positive effect on the institutional culture of teaching and learning. Because many faculty participate in our courses in college teaching, as well as serving on teaching advisory committees for participating doctoral students, the program serves as an important part of UNH’s faculty development effort, with over 40% of faculty having participated in some facet of the program.

Implementation of the Program

The most important factor for colleagues at another university to consider as they decide whether to adapt the UNH model to their needs is the question of program “buy-in.” The UNH program has been successful because of broad institutional support stemming from the commitment of colleagues from various departments across the institution. Such a program can not be imposed from the top. Rather, interest in improving the culture of teaching and learning must be expressed by a core group of faculty willing to devote time and energy to developing and teaching courses in the pedagogy of their disciplines.

The primary resources needed to start up a program like this are human resources: a critical mass of faculty interested in enhancing teaching and learning across the curriculum, and a body of doctoral students who are convinced that their preparation as teachers need not be completely neglected in the interest of their training as researchers and scholars. Once the energy of these groups is channeled in the right direction, a workable financial model can be found to make such a program self-supporting. For instance, at UNH graduate teaching assistants receive tuition waivers from their home departments for summer courses. Those tuition waivers are applied to coursework in college teaching, thereby paying the stipends of faculty who teach the courses.

At UNH, involved faculty typically teach the equivalent of one-half of a graduate course during the summer session, or are given release time to teach a course on pedagogy in the discipline during the academic year. Faculty also serve on teaching committees for doctoral students. The time commitment for these committees varies, but rarely exceeds 4-5 hours in a semester.