Cognate in College Teaching

The Graduate School, in conjunction with the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching and Learning, offers a thirteen-credit graduate program designed to enhance the effectiveness of college teaching. All courses needed to earn this credential carry full academic credit. All of the core courses are offered online, as are the GRAD 970 courses. The Independent Study and discipline-specific elective courses meet face-to-face. Eligible students who currently have a UNH graduate assistantship may use the tuition waiver benefit to cover the cost of tuition.

Possessing the requisite graduate degree(s), the interest, and the research experience in an academic discipline may no longer be sufficient for success as a college-level professor. Today's faculty members must possess a set of skills and understandings specific to effective teaching in a learner-centered environment: they have to know how students learn, how to design courses to enhance that learning, how to interact effectively with students, and how to assess teaching and learning. This program is designed to help faculty and graduate students learn and sharpen these skills and to broaden their knowledge base in the scholarship of college teaching.

All courses in the program are based on the latest research and scholarship in the field of college teaching. The curriculum offers a rich blend of teaching and learning theory, a comprehensive overview of the current best teaching practices in higher education, and practical strategies for applying what is learned.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the cognate program must have the support and recommendation of their doctoral or masters program coordinator.   Students must apply through the Graduate School and be formally admitted to the program.  The cognate appears as a minor on the student’s transcript, and is awarded concurrently with the Ph.D. or master’s degree.

Enrollment

To enroll in the cognate program, complete and submit the application form, and send all supporting documents listed at the bottom of the form directly to the Graduate School. 

Course Requirements

The Cognate in College Teaching offers a series of core and elective courses to prepare individuals to teach at institutions of higher education.  This program requires the satisfactory completion of 13 academic credits. Students elect, with the permission of their graduate coordinator, to add the cognate to their graduate degree. The cognate will be awarded at the time of the award of the qualifying graduate degree. Requirements include 8 credits in core courses and 4 credits in elective courses. Students must also create and submit an electronic teaching portfolio for 1 credit. 

Below is a listing of the required and elective courses for the Cognate in College Teaching: 

Cognate in College Teaching - Course Requirements (PDF)

Required Core Courses - 4 courses (8 credits)
COURSE COURSE TITLE MODE TIME CREDITS
GRAD 950 Issues in College Teaching Online Summer Term 2
GRAD 951 Teaching with Writing Online Summer Term 2
GRAD 961 Cognition, Teaching, and Learning Online Summer Term 2
GRAD 965 Classroom Research & Assessment Methods Online Summer Term 2
Required Electives - 2 courses (minimum 4 credits)
COURSE COURSE TITLE MODE TIME CREDITS

GRAD 970

Special Topics in College Teaching

Teaching and Learning with Multimedia Online January Term 2
Teaching with Technology Online Summer Term (not offered every year) 2
Course Design: Best Practices for Course Development and Implementation Online January Term and/or Summer Term 2
GRAD 995 Independent Study TBA AY of Summer Term (permission required) 1 or 2

Where available, the appropriate course(s) or seminar(s) on teaching in a particular discipline (e.g., history, economics, chemistry, psychology, etc.) 

Required Teaching Portfolio [Cognate Only]
COURSE COURSE TITLE MODE TIME CREDITS
GRAD 998 College Teaching Portfolio TBA TBA 1

CONTACT US

For further information please contact Catherine Overson at (603) 862-0902 or via e-mail catherine.overson@unh.edu