This three-credit seminar addresses key issues in teaching and learning theory and practice. Students develop documents to support teaching and future job searches, including a statement of teaching philosophy, a lesson plan and a course syllabus.

Students enroll in courses according to their academic discipline. For instance, a humanities course would be designed for any graduate student in the humanities disciplines. Similarly, a physical science course would be open to all graduate students of physical sciences.

Courses Offered

Check our Course Offerings and Registration page for more information.

Course Schedule and Registration

View the Temple graduate course schedule online, and register through the Banner System in TU Portal. 

The 0-credit Teaching in Higher Education Practicum is individually designed by each student. The student secures a Teaching Assistantship or Adjunct appointment (e.g. as TA lecturer/recitation leader, instructor of record, Writing Center tutor, or lab leader), identifies a practicum mentor with whom they will meet regularly throughout their teaching experience, and engages in reflection on that experience with the support of their mentor. Practicum mentors are usually not the same person the student TA's for, or who assigned the teaching appointment.

Goals 

The primary goals of the Practicum are

• for students to reflect on their teaching experience, including its relationship to the seminar, with an experienced mentor and
• for students to examine selected aspects of their teaching through reflective writing.

Registration

To register for the Teaching in Higher Education Practicum, you must be a full-time graduate student at Temple. Individuals who are not full-time graduate students may complete the Certificate by enrolling in EPSY 8960.

Registration for the 0-credit Teaching in Higher Education Practicum has two steps.

1. Complete the mentor approval form. If your selected mentor is not on the approved mentor list, you must receive approval to work with that individual from the CAT. Email thec@temple.edu with questions. 
2. Register for the 0-credit practicum (EPSY 5987) in Banner. View the Temple graduate course schedule online, and register through the Banner System in TU Portal. 

You must be registered and participating in the Teaching in Higher Education Practicum by the end of the first week of classes. 

Requirements

While there is some flexibility, the Practicum must include three key components: (1) Teaching, (2) Mentor Meetings, (3) a Reflective Journal.

1. Teaching with a TA or adjunct appointment
   You could be instructor of record, or a discussion section or lab leader. We also accept TA appointments through the Student Success Center. Although grading is an important aspect of teaching, direct student interaction is essential to the reflective practicum. If you cannot secure a TA appointment, or if your appointment is limited to grading, but you still want to complete the certificate, contact the CAT (thec@temple.edu) about potential options. Students must secure their own teaching appointment.
    
2. Mentor Meetings
   Reflect on your teaching experience through ongoing dialogue in bi-weekly meetings with disciplinary mentor. It is the student's responsibility to contact possible Teaching in Higher Education Practicum mentors and make arrangements to meet with them once every two weeks for discussion.
   
   Recommended Mentors
   We recommend that you invite someone from the list of recommended mentors to serve as your mentor for the Teaching in Higher Education Practicum. The faculty members on this list are all knowledgeable about the Teaching in Higher Education Curriculum and are open to serving as Practicum mentors. If there is not a suitable mentor on the list, you would like to have a particular individual not on the list serve as your mentor, or the individual you wish to work with is not available, please contact thec@temple.edu for support.
   
   Guidelines and Log
   Please read the Reflective Practicum: Guidelines for Mentorship and share it with your mentor. We ask you and your mentor to fill out the Mentor Meeting Log (click here to access a Word doc version of the mentor log) providing the dates met and signatures. Again, you must meet once every two weeks (at least 7 times during the semester).
    
3. Reflective Journal
   As part of the Teaching in Higher Education Practicum you are encouraged to keep a reflective journal where you write about recent events in your teaching experience. An entry might focus on an event that made you feel satisfied or frustrated, proud or angry, successful or unsuccessful and consist of a reflection on the experience and what it means to you as a teacher. You should also draw upon what you learned at the Teaching in Higher Education Seminar. You are encouraged to use these journal entries as a springboard for discussion when you meet with your mentor. 

Upon completion of both the Seminar and Teaching in Higher Education Practicum (EPSY 5987), submit the following materials to CAT by the deadlines outlined below.

1. Mentor Meeting Log (see Step 2: Teaching in Higher Education Practicum)
2. Certificate Application
3. Evidence of Teaching form (signed by Department Head or Advisor)

Please submit items digitally as PDF's to CAT at [click-for-email].

Completion Deadlines

The Mentor Meeting Log, Certificate Application and Evidence of Teaching form must be submitted to cat@temple.edu by the final day of classes in the semester in which you are completing the practicum. Visit the Temple University Academic Calendar page for specific dates.

Receiving the Certificate 

Once you have completed the requirements for the certificate, we will send you a letter and certificate of completion via email. You will additionally receive a digital copy of your Certificate via email from the sender “Parchment and Temple University <congratulations@parchment.com>”. To access your credentials on TUPortal, visit TUportal > Student Tools tab > Records channel > TUcredentials. According to university policy, the Teaching in Higher Education certificate will be officially added to your transcript upon graduation from your degree program.