Teaching Scholars Program Details and Application Process

Applicants must:

• Hold a UCSF appointment for at least one year as a teacher/educator in any of the professional schools or the graduate division, for any level of learners.
• Must describe and provide examples of:
  • Commitment to education (e.g., teaching and/or curriculum development experience, education committee participation, goals indicate desire for further engagement in education beyond teaching)
  • Engagement in personal development as an educator (e.g., participation in workshops for educators at UCSF or elsewhere; reflection on teaching that led to improvements)
  • Commitment to anti-oppression, equity, and social justice in health professions education and/or in health care (e.g., Personal statement demonstrates understanding of anti-oppression, equity, social justice; Includes specific activities that contribute to DEIA)
• Support from Division/Department for time needed for TSP

Complete and submit an application to the Teaching Scholars Program by the deadline.

Other considerations:

• Applicants from the School of Medicine have priority.
• There is the potential for two spots for applicants from each of the other UCSF schools.
• The TSP cohort will reflect diversity and equity with respect to race/ethnicity, gender, specialty

TSP supports UCSF’s commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression. Through the program, educators undertake professional development that builds the knowledge and skills to teach, develop curriculum, lead programs, and conduct studies in support of the anti-racist and anti-oppression mission. The TSP curriculum consists of:

1. Weekly topic-based sessions to build foundational knowledge and skills, in a seminar-style with discussion and participation in application activities. Sessions provide the space to explore the importance and impact of anti-racism and anti-oppression frameworks on the topic at hand.  The course is framed around content related to learning theory, curriculum development including teaching strategies, assessment, program evaluation, education scholarship, education leadership, and educator career development. Course materials include textbooks, peer-reviewed articles, and other electronic resources. Session plans, presentations, handouts, and most reading materials are available online to all participants.
2. A scholarly project that aligns with educational priorities at UCSF. Projects may be research or curriculum/assessment development and reflect attending to an anti-racist/anti-oppressive perspective. The decision to engage on a specific project is made during the program and not before since many of the sessions in the course influence participant’s thinking and projects often are reimagined. CFE faculty researchers provide mentoring to the TSP participants for their selected research or curriculum development projects.

September to June - Interactive Seminars:

• Topic-based sessions every Tuesday 1-5 pm, Sessions are primarily on Zoom with planned face-to-face meetings so that everyone will know each other.  We will have a face-to-face meeting in the beginning and schedule others in a way that works for the cohort.
• A monthly mentoring session, one Tuesday per month with a CFE researcher and a small group of TSP participants. 

July and August - Ongoing Project Work Time:

• Tuesday 1-5 pm project work and works in progress sessions that are aligned with participants’ personal and work schedules.

September - Graduation:

• Graduation and project presentations

Members of the TSP selection committee review applications and select each TSP cohort. The current committee includes TSP program leadership, the Associate Dean of Curriculum, and four TSP graduates representing diverse perspectives. Criteria for 2023-2024 will give priority to those who have completed the Teach for UCSF Certificate in General Teaching as previously announced, although this is not required to apply. This requirement will change in the future.

The selection committee strives to select a cohort of teaching scholars that reflects diversity with respect to specialty, race/ethnicity, gender and other identities.  We seek applicants from a range of backgrounds and with educational experiences across the continuum of health professions education:

• A UCSF appointment for at least one year as a teacher/educator in any of the professional schools or the graduate division, for any level of learners. 
• Provide evidence of commitment to education (e.g., teaching and/or curriculum development experience, education committee participation, goals indicate desire for further engagement in education beyond teaching)
• Evidence of engagement in personal development as an educator (e.g., participation in workshops for educators at UCSF or elsewhere; reflection on teaching that led to improvements)
• Evidence of commitment to anti-oppression, equity, and social justice in health professions education and/or in health care (e.g., Personal statement demonstrates understanding of anti-oppression, equity, social justice; Includes specific activities that contribute to DEIA)
• Support from Division/Department for time needed for TSP.

The committed strives to select a cohort of participants who reflect diversity and equity with respect to race/ethnicity, gender, specialty.

Timeline

• Deadline: April 1 at midnight
• Notification: Between May 1 and 15

Instructions

To apply to the Teaching Scholars Program:

1. Gather the elements of the application packet as listed below in a single pdf for submission:
   • Curriculum Vitae. Preferably in UCSF format.
   • Goals Statement. Please write a narrative of approximately 1000 words describing:
     • Teaching background: Describe your teaching responsibilities and efforts to improve your teaching.
     • Education Interests: Describe what interests you about education in general. What kinds of education projects have you participated in and/or are you interested in? This can include curricular innovations, development of assessment tools, program evaluation, and/or educational research.
     • Commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression: Describe what you have done and what you would like to do to address racism and oppression. How does this relate to your role as an educator?  
     • Educator career: How will participation in the Teaching Scholars Program advance your career plans as an educator?
2. Assemble the documents into a single .pdf document.
3. Complete the TSP Application Form online, including an upload of the single pdf document by April 1 at midnight. In the form you must provide:
   • the date of your original UCSF appointment
   • the name of a departmental leader* whom we will contact to attest to:
     • Supporting your participation in the program and its alignment with your career development and the educational goals of the department.
     • Release time for Tuesday afternoons for the year, early September through mid-September.
4. Contact Victoria Ruddick, Faculty Development Manager, at ruddickv@ucsf.edu if you do not receive a confirmation of the receipt of your application.

*Department leader can be one of the following:

• the applicant’s department chair
• the applicant's division chief with support from educational leadership such as a vice/associate chair for education, or program director.