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The Graduate School

Prospective PTP Fellows

Submit your application for the 2023-2024 cohort.

Self-enroll in our Moodle Projects page to complete the application!

Program Components

Workshops

The program sponsors approximately thirteen workshops for fellows throughout the academic year. Many of the workshops require fellows to complete reading or writing assignments in preparation, and all fellows are required to attend the workshops. Once a day and time has been set for workshops, applicants should plan their observation and teaching courses to ensure that they can meet the PTP attendance requirements. Fellows selected for PTP are required to complete the How to Survive Your First Day of Class workshop before participating in the PTP program, unless they have already completed significant professional development activities in teaching.

Mentoring Relationship

In conjunction with a faculty mentor they select, applicants develop a detailed plan for the PTP year. This plan covers two semesters: an observation semester and a teaching/co-teaching semester. During the observation semester, the fellow observes an undergraduate course taught by the faculty mentor. (Note: the fellow cannot be enrolled in this course.) Over the course of this semester, the fellow will participate in activities that will prepare him or her for teaching the following semester, such as meeting regularly with the faculty mentor, completing structured reflections on the observations, developing course materials (homework assignments or exams), grading, or holding office hours. The details of these arrangements are up to the fellow and faculty mentor.

In the second semester, the fellow teaches or co-teaches an undergraduate course, taking on significant instructional responsibility for the class. (Note: the fellow may not teach or co-teach a graduate course.) In addition to the teaching responsibilities, the fellow should continue the mentoring relationship, including activities such as seeking regular feedback. Although the details of the arrangement are up to each fellow-mentor pair, a formal observation of the fellow’s teaching by the mentor is required.

Participant Eligibility

In order to participate in the program, applicants must

  1. Be enrolled as doctoral candidates or employed as postdoctoral scholars
  2. Have completed 18 graduate credit hours in their major prior to the teaching semester
  3. Be in good academic standing in their department
  4. Be at a point in their doctoral program or postdoctoral appointment when they have sufficient time to work with a faculty mentor

Note – The selection committee will give preference to those applicants who are within one year of entering the academic job market.

The selection committee will also consider applicants’ prior teaching experience and commitment to professional development in teaching (as demonstrated through, for example, participation in workshops, participation in the teaching certificate program, or completion of a semester-long pedagogy class such as EAC 786, Teaching in College). Those selected as PTP fellows will be required to complete an approved workshop (How to Survive Your First Day of Class) before they participate in the PTP program. Some PTP applicants may be exempt from this requirement if they have completed the Teaching Certificate or a semester-long pedagogy class, for example.

Up to 30 doctoral students and/or postdoctoral scholars are selected for the program through a University-wide competition each spring.

The PTP program is only open to PhD students and postdoctoral scholars. If you are a master’s student looking to enhance your teaching skills, you can consider two other teaching programs offered by the Graduate School: the professional development workshops and development series and the Teaching Certificate program.

Course Credit Option

With the agreement of the faculty mentor and the student’s graduate advisor, a student may receive up to 3 hours course credit for the teaching semester of his or her participation in the Preparing the Professoriate program, under the course number designated for doctoral supervised teaching experience (885).The course prefix should be that of the faculty mentor’s department, and the course will be S-U graded. Before granting course credit, the faculty mentor and student should agree on what additional assignments, if any, will be required. These might include an annotated bibliography of scholarship on teaching in the discipline, a research article on teaching, and/or other projects. Students interested in pursuing this option should contact their DGPs once they have been selected for the PTP program.

Accommodations

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assisting devices, services, or other accommodations to participate in this program, please contact professional-development@ncsu.edu.