College Faculty Preparation Program

This program is designed to better prepare the graduate student interested in a teaching career at the community college or university level. Participation requires completion of, or concurrent enrollment in, the English Master’s program. While not required for the M.A., it is an excellent way to obtain teaching experience and professional training. 

The certificate consists of five components (13-14 units), described below. After consulting
with your graduate advisor, and under the advisement of the College Faculty Preparation Program coordinator, develop a plan of study tailored to meet your specific timelines and professional goals. The CFPP coordinator and the dean for Research and Graduate Studies must approve each plan of study. Notation of certificate completion will appear on your official university transcript.

I:  Discipline-Specific Teaching Methods

For English graduate students, this component is completed by taking one of the following HSU courses during the first or second semester of the M.A. program:

ENGL 611 Seminar in Teaching Writing (4 units)
ENGL 615 Writing Workshop (4 units)

II:  Higher Education Teaching Methods

Graduate-level instruction in general pedagogy. This, too, should be completed in the first or second semester of graduate study. It may be taken before or concurrently with Components III and IV.

ED 583 Teaching in Higher Education (3 units)

III: Professional Development Seminar

Explores the nature and philosophy of post-secondary institutions and their roles and functions in higher education. Taken concurrently with Component IV.

SP 684 Orientation to Higher Education (1 unit)

IV: Mentored Teaching Internship Experience

This fieldwork component, the heart of the CFPP, involves acting as a teaching assistant in a writing or a college skills course. (As a teaching assistant you will work with a master teacher, at first observing and later taking on some instructional duties. Typically the teaching assistant has full responsibility for some class sessions.) It is satisfied by completing one of the following tracks:

• Community College Track
  Mentored teaching experience at College of the Redwoods.

  SP 683 College Faculty Preparation Internship (3 units) (Note: Students successfully completing this course may apply in later semesters for a paid CR Faculty Internship if positions are available.)

• Pre-doctoral College Track
  Four units (two of the following) of mentored teaching experience at HSU:

  ENGL 450 Tutoriing Developing Writers (2 units)
  ENGL 681 Internship in Teaching Literature (2 units)
  ENGL 682 Internship in Teaching Writing (2 units)

V: Capstone Experience

Guidance in developing a professional teaching portfolio and job-search support materials. Taken after all previous components have been completed.

SP 685 Iinstructional Resources for Higher Education (2 units)

For more information on the CFPP, see the program's website or e-mail cfpp@humboldt.edu.