This post is part of an update I prepared for alumni and friends of the College of Arts and Letters to share some of our current projects and programming around enhancing the graduate student experience here at MSU.
Comprehensive Teaching Excellence Program (CTEP)
The Comprehensive Teaching Excellence Program provides graduate students with a menu of opportunities through which they can deeply engage with their teaching practice and weave together their experiences.
- Certification in College Teaching Program (CCTP) – Students gain a base level of skills and knowledge around teaching and navigating higher education. The focus of the program is around pedagogy, course modality and design, research on teaching and learning, and introductory mentorship experiences.
- Innovative Online Pedagogy and Curriculum Program (IOPCP) – This program provides a mentored opportunity for students to design, develop, and teach an online course in our Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities (IAH) program. Students spend the first half of the summer designing and developing a course that is taught to undergraduates during the second half.
- COLA – Provides students with an opportunity to develop their reflective practice and research skills through focused inquiry into a teaching and learning topic of their choice. COLA is offered every summer and is a collaborative program with other Colleges on campus.
- Teaching Mentors Program – Pairs students with expert teachers for mentored conversations through the course of an academic year. Program outcomes include charting their career paths and developing a teaching philosophy.
Alt-Ac/Non-Ac Career Paths / Charting Pathways to Intellectual Leadership
Faculty and graduate students across multiple disciplines are collaborating to study and develop models for supporting graduate students moving into Alternative Academic (Alt-Ac) or Non-Academic (Non-Ac) careers after graduation. This emerging work seeks not only to provide guidance and resources for students, but also to understand the supports and infrastructure needed to train faculty to mentor students in these career paths, and to support programs recruiting students with non-traditional career aspirations. A small team is planning a symposium for the 2024-25 academic year. This work builds on programs designed to support students adopting the Charting Pathways to Intellectual Leadership (CPIL) framework to craft meaningful and fulfilling careers and lives.
Managing Digital Projects Certificate
Managed by the Digital Humanities program, this graduate-level certificate is in development and consists of a 3-course sequence of 2-credit graduate-level courses that combine traditional project management skills and ideas translated to higher education, along with the specific skills required for primarily digital projects. The program is aimed at future and current faculty members or others working in higher education, as well as museum and cultural heritage institution professionals who are working with an increasing number of digital projects that require sustainability and longevity plans that are much different from analog projects.
Enhancing the Graduate Experience Seed Grant Program
This program has been designed to support departments and programs with ideas for enhancing the graduate student experience. Most of the programs listed on this sheet have been started through this program. To be considered for seed funding, ideas must be documented in a proposal and clear connections must be made to criteria such as program sustainability, administrative/faculty buy-in, student impact, and success metrics.