Most academics teach, as do many professionals outside of academia. During your doctoral studies at CEU, you will have the opportunity to systematically develop your teaching - preparing you for your future career. Leaving graduate school with not only practical experience on your CV, but the skills, ideas, and documents increasingly expected of early-career teachers can be both advantageous on the job market, and a deeply rewarding experience in its own right.
All doctoral students at CEU undertake a teaching practicum, a hands-on experience similar to a teaching assistantship but with a focus on teaching development. All doctoral students also have the opportunity to take teaching-related courses from the Yehuda Elkana Center. Students who wish can receive a full Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education after taking 7 credits (14 ECTS) of teaching development courses (normally 4-5 courses). Certificate courses and practical experiences are designed to complement each other.
Most doctoral students take at least one, teaching-development course during their time at CEU. Every year, about 15-25 doctoral students also complete the full Certificate, joining the ranks of more than 200 CEU graduates who have obtained the Certificate since its inception.
Discover more about the Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education and teaching-related courses below.
When are courses are offered? How do I register for them?
Please find a current list of course offerings and schedules on the Yehuda Elkana Center's Sharepoint page [CEU login required]. You can find full course descriptions from the same site or via TimeEdit [CEU login required].
Students can register for courses during the normal registration period through and the normal SITS registration process. Most Elkana Center courses can be found in the SITS menu under Extracurricular Courses (YELC - Yehuda Elkana Center for Teaching, Learning, and Higher Education). For some doctoral programs, one or more courses count towards the degree program, and can be found alongside other courses. Please consult your departmental coordinator in programs where Elkana Center courses count as mandatory courses or as electives.
You do not need to register separately for the Certificate. Simply start taking courses, and when you have completed all requirements (with the Portfolio course), you will receive your Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education.
What is the Teaching Certificate? What will I learn, and what do I need to do to complete the Certificate?
The Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education is a structured set of 4-5 courses, awarding you 7 US credits (14 ECTS). The knowledge and materials students you create in it (e.g., syllabus, teaching portfolio, sample lessons and assignments, and more) are designed to help you in your teaching experiences at CEU, prepare you for academic jobs, and document your credentials.
You can think of the Certificate as following four steps:
- Foundations: Teaching in the classroom
YELC 6101 – Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (2-credits).
This course provides a thorough introduction to teaching, structured around designing and teaching a class lesson or session. In the process, you will learn to establish appropriate goals and learning outcomes, plan your time, create materials, lecture, facilitate discussions, promote equitable outcomes, and feel comfortable doing everyday things, such as using learning technologies and grading. ALTERNATIVELY, instead of Foundations, you can start with YELC 6001 - Getting Started as a TA (1-credit/2 ECTS). This course is designed as a 'crash course' to help you through the TA-ship or practicum. It provides a practical introduction to classroom management, teaching with technology, grading, accessibility, lectures, discussions and more. Afterwards, you can take YELC 6002, Getting Started Teaching, which focuses on designing and teaching a session. Together, these two (1-credit) courses provide an equivalent to the 2-credit Foundations. We encourage everyone to take Foundations but want to provide multiple pathways into the Certificate. - Intermediate-level: Designing courses and assignments
YELC 6105 – Learning by Design (2-credits/4 ECTS). Before, we learned and practiced designing and teaching an individual class session and managing everyday teaching activities. In this next course, we think about courses (modules) as a whole. In this hands-on class, we build a syllabus step-by-step, create meaningful assessments, and incorporate different learning theories and design strategies to effectively meet the needs of different learners. Either Foundations (YELC 6101) or both Getting Started courses (YELC 6001 and 6002) are a prerequisite. - Intermediate-Level Electives
Elective courses offer an opportunity to explore a topic in greater depth. The courses offered each year vary, but may include courses such as Interactive Teaching, Teaching and AI, Democratic and Inclusive Teaching, Mentoring and Student Needs, or the History and Contexts of University Teaching.Most students take 2 credits worth of
intermediate-level courses on specialized topics of their choice. We offer both 1-credit and 2-credit courses, which can be combined freely. Some students will need fewer elective credits because they took both Foundations and Getting Started. (Phrased differently, extra credits from teaching courses that you do not need for the required Certificate components can count towards electives.) What is important is that between your mandatory courses and electives, you reach a minimum of 7 US credits (14 ECTS).Elective courses do not have prerequisites. You can take them whenever they fit your schedule, though you may get more out of them by first taking Foundations or the two Getting Started courses.
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Bringing it altogether in a portfolio
YELC 6107 - Creating a Teaching Portfolio (1-credit/2 ECTS). In this final course, you bring the different approaches and documents (such as syllabi, lesson plans, etc.) that you have created in previous courses together to create a teaching portfolio. Portfolios demonstrate and explain our approaches to teaching to hiring and promotion committees, teaching credential committees, and other bodies. They also provide an opportunity to reflect on how (and why) we teach. In this course, you will write a teaching philosophy statement, explore effective supervision strategies, and create a teaching portfolio. Your Teaching Certificate is issued at the end of the course.You should plan on taking all other courses before your Portfolio, though if necessary, you can take Learning by Design and/or an elective simultaneously.
What if I started courses in previous years and the requirements changed?
Two general principles apply when changes occur:
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Students receive credit for teaching development courses they previously took at the Yehuda Elkana Center or the Center for Teaching and Learning towards the current form of the Certificate and
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Students are not unnecessarily disadvantaged by changes in the Certificate structure.
For example:
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Students who took YELC 6001 (Getting Started) and YELC 6101 (Foundations) can count Getting Started as an elective credit.
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Students who completed YELC 6103 prior to summer 2024 (when Foundations consisted of a 2-credit seminar and 1-credit practicum) can also count 'extra' credits towards the electives.
Which course should I take first (and when)?
We highly recommend taking Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (YELC 6101) as your first course and no later than the term in which you first do the mandatory teaching practicum.
We recognize that for some programs or students, the 1-credit Getting Started as a TA course (YELC 6001) is a more practical first step. This should be completed in the semester of the first TA or teaching practicum.
Finally, some students start with an elective.
Regardless of when you begin, we're happy to have you in our courses and are happy to talk with you about your plans and constraints.
What is the Teaching Practicum and do TA-ships count towards the Certificate?
All doctoral students at CEU are required to complete a Teaching Practicum. The Teaching Practicum has some similarities to a teaching assistantship (TA-ship), but the emphasis is on developing teaching skills in partnership with a faculty member in the classroom. It is organized by doctoral programs, and participants receive two or more credits. Paid teaching assistantships are available on a competitive basis after completion of the Teaching Practicum, with preference given to those who have completed Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (YELC 6101) and especially, the whole Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education.
The practicum and other teaching experiences do not replace courses, and do not count towards the course credits in the Certificate. Rather, these practical experiences and courses are designed to be complementary.
Please consult the Sharepoint site for further information about the teaching practicum and the student employment webpage for current paid opportunities.
What are Yehuda Elkana Center courses like?
Yehuda Elkana Center courses blend key principles with practical techniques, scholarly-informed practices, opportunities to reflect on the specifics of one's institutional and disciplinary contexts, and to receive valuable feedback while trying things out for one's self. Whether you're TA'ing, teaching your own session, designing a course, thinking through strategies to make courses more equitable, or considering how to effectively incorporate technology, our courses are designed to address your practical concerns and goals while laying the foundations for effective teaching in the long-term.
In short, Yehuda Elkana Center courses are more practice-driven than traditional MA- or PhD-level courses. They are also an incredible opportunity to meet doctoral students from other programs outside your discipline.