There are three categories for eligibility, pertaining to the graduate student, the faculty co-instructor, and the course itself.
Eligibility of graduate students:
You are eligible to apply for the program if you are a Ph.D. student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), and if you meet the following qualifications:
- You will have advanced to candidacy by the time the course will be taught (note: the application may be made before advancing to candidacy).
- Your thesis advisor and Director of Graduate Study (hereafter, DGS) have agreed to submit written approval.
- You demonstrate a commitment to effective teaching through your statement about why you wish to teach in the program (see Application Materials and Procedures).
- You are in good academic standing, as confirmed by the DGS.
- You will complete your teaching in the program by the end of your sixth year of GSAS funding (or within the COVID-extension, if applicable).
- You have taught for at least one semester (at Yale or elsewhere) before the semester in which you plan to teach through the AT program.
Funding and Notation Details: The AT program substitutes for one semester of required or stipendiary teaching within the graduate student’s regular stipend years (note: it does not extend the funding clock). Graduate students will be appointed at the rank of Part-Time Acting Instructor (PTAI), which makes them instructors of record alongside the collaborating faculty member.
At the conclusion of the course, the notation “Associate in Teaching” and the title of the course will be recorded on your transcript.
Eligibility of faculty members:
Both instructional and ladder faculty are eligible to teach courses through the AT program. Faculty must provide evidence of success in teaching and working with teaching fellows in the portion of the application describing a history of effective mentoring (see Section 1, Application Materials), and through the DGS’s letter of support. Visiting faculty members, regardless of rank, are not eligible to participate in the AT program.
Eligibility of proposed course:
Undergraduate courses of all types and formats, with the exception of First-Year Seminars, are eligible for the AT program. The course:
- may be new or existing, if the course is going through a significant redesign;
- must divide the work of course design equally between the faculty member and you, regardless of whether the course is new or redesigned;
- must have a high likelihood of enrollment, and the proposal must provide strong evidence or rationale to that effect;
- must be taught in a truly collaborative fashion between the faculty member and you, with the faculty member mentoring you throughout the semester to ensure teaching happens at a co-equal level.
Note: Many graduate students choose to teach courses closely related to their dissertations. However, because experience designing and teaching introductory and intermediate courses is highly beneficial for graduate students on the academic job market in most fields, we encourage you to consider courses at that level in order to gain broader teaching experience in your fields.
