About the FFTDP
The Future Faculty and Teaching Development Program (FFTDP) prepares graduate students to take on the role of faculty member, with courses and workshops to ready you for the responsibilities of teaching and the space to start exploring your broader career goals.
This long-term program, designed to be completed over two or more years, will help you develop the skills requisite for effective teaching, get you ready for the academic job market, and prepare you to transition confidently into your faculty career.
The FTTDP complements existing departmental professional development programs on campus while allowing students in departments without such programs to prepare for the job of college or university faculty member.
Admission
To be eligible for the FFTDP, you must be enrolled in a terminal degree program at the University and have completed at least one of the courses in teaching and professional development listed below.
Interested students should submit a short program application.
Program Requirements
The FFTDP has two key requirements: coursework and additional teaching development work.
Coursework
To fulfill the coursework requirement, participants must successfully complete all three of the Courses in Teaching and Professional Development.
Each course is offered once a year and may be taken for 0-1 credit hours. These courses are also open to students not enrolled in the FTTPD. All courses are graded S/U and will appear on your transcript. Contact us to request a permission number.
Please see the graduate bulletin for official course descriptions. Courses are offered under the following numbers:
- ACAS 601/RPAD 590 - Seminar in College Teaching
Additional course information: Most faculty have never been taught to teach, and it is easy to believe that it takes natural talent to be good at it. But great teachers are great because they approach teaching systematically, studying empirical evidence and applying it thoughtfully to their teaching. If you are planning a career in academe, teaching will take up large amounts of your time, even at research institutions. Our course will help you make the most of that time, so that teaching can be energizing and rewarding for you and your students!
Offered each fall - ACAS 602/RPAD 591 - Preparing for the Professoriate
Additional course information: New faculty often find themselves struggling as they get started in their career. This doesn’t have to happen to you. We’ll let you in on secrets about how to be a quick starter in academe—secrets that will not only make you more effective on the job market, but will set you on the path to tenure! In this course, you will examine the different kinds of faculty careers open to you, prepare for the academic job market, and put together a plan to hit the ground running to start your trajectory toward a satisfying career.
Offered each spring - ACAS 603/RPAD 592 - Becoming a Reflective Teacher
Additional course information: Even if you aren’t yet on the market, you should be already thinking about how you will communicate your teaching skills to busy search committee members. For both the job market and eventually tenure, you will need to articulate your values and strengths as a teacher and be ready with evidence to show that these values and strengths guide your classroom practice. In this course, you will work with your colleagues to thoughtfully reflect on your beliefs and practices as a teacher, and work together to refine the documents that will eventually become your teaching portfolio.
Offered each fall
coursework
Additional Teaching Development Work
Graduate students come from different disciplinary contexts and may have different needs or interests, so we offer a variety of options for additional teaching development work.
Program participants may choose one of the options below to complete this requirement:
- Workshop attendance - Attend 3 short (75-120 minute) teaching-focused workshops. Current workshop offerings are listed under Workshops for Faculty and Instructional Staff.
- Instructional Leadership Academy - Participate in 1 multi-day Instructional Leadership Academy. Visit our Workshops and Events page to learn more about these offerings.
- Class observation - Engage in a class observation with a CATLOE Instructional Consultant while teaching a course. Observation includes a live class visit, and pre-observation and post-observation meetings with the Instructional Consultant. Schedule an observation on the Consultation and Personalized Support page.
- Teaching Consultation - Engage in a series of at least 3 teaching consultations with a CATLOE Instructional Consultant focused on a particular teaching issue, question, or problem while the FFTDP participant is teaching a course. Schedule a consultation on the Consultation and Personalized Support page.
Completion
After completing all requirements and submitting the details of their work to CATLOE, participants will receive a letter from CATLOE as well as a transcript notation attesting to their successful completion of the program requirements.