The Certificate in University Teaching provides an opportunity for graduate students to develop their teaching skills and is targeted primarily to doctoral students who are interested in pursuing an academic career. Completion of the required courses will enhance the competitiveness of graduate students in obtaining academic positions.
The Certificate is offered jointly by the Teaching Resources Office (TRACE), and by the Dean of Graduate Studies, and is open to interested graduate students in all Faculties.
Students who participate in the program should have held (or concurrently hold) teaching assistantships, and ideally will have the opportunity, during their time as students, for some classroom teaching.
In order to obtain the certificate, students must successfully complete three Graduate Studies (GS) courses (GS 901, 902 and 903). Students register for the program through Quest, and have one year to complete each course. GS 901 is a pre-requisite for GS 902. (Note: These courses may only be applied for credit towards the Certificate in University Teaching and may not be counted towards any degree.)
GS 901: Preparing for University Teaching I (0.0)
Students will be required to attend six TRACE-approved workshops, including two mandatory ones from TRACE (Course Design and Understanding the Learner), with a written report following the two required workshops plus reports on two more workshops. The department or faculty TA orientation session, if offered, could be included as one of the six workshops.
GS 902: Preparing for an Academic Career (0.0)
Students will be required to complete two projects: a research project and a teaching dossier. To assist in the preparation of these projects, students must attend one workshop and one consultationsession for each project. Research projects may take the form of a presentation and paper, a mini-workshop, or a poster preseantation with supporting documentation.
GS 903: Teaching Practicum (0.0)
Students will be required to teach at least three times (lecture, lab, tutorial, or presentation) and receive written feedback from an observer (arranged through TRACE). Students also must provide a reflective report after each observation. (At least one event must be a large lecture.)
All work must be deemed acceptable by TRACE evaluators in order for students to pass each component. More specific guidelines and requirements for each component of the Certificate are avilable electronically at: www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infotrac/CUT.html