A&S Outstanding TA Award

Arts & Sciences Outstanding TA Award

To recognize excellence in undergraduate instruction by Teaching Assistants, the College of Arts & Sciences has established the Outstanding TA awards.  Fifteen Teaching Assistants, five per area (Math/Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities), will receive a certificate and monetary award.

Eligibility

The A&S Outstanding Teaching Certificate is open to: 

  • Current A&S graduate student teaching assistants in at least their second year of graduate work,
  • TAs who were responsible for instruction in some or all of a course offered by the College of Arts & Sciences,
  • TAs who taught in courses offered by A&S departments as well as those offered by A&S interdisciplinary programs or through other programs,
  • Students who have not previously won the A&S Outstanding TA Award

Please note: The award is for cumulative teaching history, not exclusively for the semesters of the award year

Nomination Process
Each A&S department may nominate up to three Teaching Assistants for recognition.  For each candidate, the following material must be provided:

  • Two 1-page letters of recommendation: one from a faculty member who has supervised their teaching and one from the DGS, Chair, or TA Coordinator. 
  • a Graduate School classroom observation form from a recent semester.
  • a 2-page curriculum vitae.
  • a 1-page statement by the nominee of their teaching philosophy.
  • a list of all courses taught by the nominee, the approximate number of students in each class,  and the student evaluation scores for “Quality of Instruction” and “Quality of Course” or its departmental student evaluation form equivalent.

Method of Selection
The A&S Educational Policy Committee (EPC) will be responsible for awarding the certificates.  The three area subcommittees will serve as respective selection committees for each set of area awards.  The department chair will be notified of the results late-April 2025.  Presentation of the award to the recipient will be by the department.

Deadline for Nominations
One complete nomination packet in PDF format with all appropriate documentation must be submitted to Colleen Knight (colleen.knight@uky.edu) by no later than noon on Monday, March 3, 2025.