Course Development Seminars in Teaching Excellence

Introduction

The Excellence in Pedagogy and Innovative Classrooms Program funds innovative and inclusive undergraduate teaching in the following interdisciplinary fields within the Humanities: Health & Medical, Environmental, Digital, and Urban Humanities.

Building upon the foundational work of the Mellon-EPIC Fellows from the Collaborative Humanities Track Seminars in Teaching Excellence (STE), the EPIC Course Development STE brings together Humanities faculty and graduate students to develop undergraduate courses in these four fields. Participants work collaboratively across disciplines and levels of experience to workshop and produce syllabi for fully designed, ready-to-teach courses.

Each STE is invited to consider the new themes each quarter as members see fit. By Health Humanities, for example, we mean the ways in which humanists’ research touches upon aspects of health, healthcare  wellbeing, illness, and so forth. In some instances, the adjective “health” might be interchangeable with “medical.” Consider, if you will, the history and changing definition of these terms since the 1930s. We invite applicants to consider the STE’s theme in ways that match both the intellectual curiosity and professional goals of all involved.

Each Course Development STE comprises four faculty members and four graduate students who meet as a cohort at least five times over the course of a quarter. The STE schedule is as follows:

Commitment and Grant Requirements
  • Each participant must create a course and produce a syllabus that follows CIMS guidelines for undergraduate classes. Classes that fulfill the University’s diversity or GE requirements are highly encouraged.
  • Course Development STE cohorts will meet at least five times per quarter to share ideas, give and receive feedback, and discuss the progress of each participant’s course design.
  • Each cohort will receive a meeting plan to serve as a guide for cohort meetings over the quarter. Participants may follow or edit the plan as they see fit.
  • STE cohorts may request EPIC to conduct an interactive workshop on inclusive and equitable course design, which may count towards the minimum five-meeting requirement.   
  • To receive the full grant and benefits, each participant must submit a syllabus and a final report/reflection to EPIC at the quarter’s end. A guide for the final report and reflections will also be available.
  • All research grants and course releases must be expended by March 30, 2023. No additional extensions will be offered. 
Eligibility
  • All full-time non-Senate faculty and Senate faculty members from the Humanities, together with the Departments of History and Musicology, are eligible to apply for and receive the research grant. To receive any course release, the department chair must give prior approval.
  • We are now able to offer full-time, non-Senate faculty the additional option for a course release, contingent upon chair approval.
  • Doctoral students from the Humanities, History, and Musicology with at least one year of teaching experience and good academic standing are eligible to apply and receive the research grant.
Award
  • All full-time non-Senate faculty, Senate faculty, and graduate student participants will each receive a $4000 research grant upon completion of the Course Design STE.
  • In addition, all full-time non-Senate faculty and Senate faculty may receive one course release contingent upon written approval by the department chair. Please see the application for details.
Information Session

To learn more about our new Course Development STE offerings and the application process, we welcome you to view a recording of one of our information sessions: