Program Overview

Graduate Certificate: Teaching in Higher Education

The graduate certificate in Teaching in Higher Education has been developed for current faculty members looking to enhance their teaching or advance their career, as well as for high school teachers and professionals in other fields who would like to teach in higher education.

About the Certificate

Completion of the coursework for the certificate prepares students to:

• appreciate learning-centered teaching
• apply research on learning and adult development to teaching
• utilize the principles of integrated course design in developing syllabi, assessments, and learning activities
• use a variety of research-based teaching methods to promote learning, development, and achievement of all students
• practice a reflective, purposeful, and learning-centered approach to teaching
• independently learn, evaluate, and assimilate future research on teaching and learning

Time Limit for Certificate Completion and Campus Location

• Time Limit for Certificate Completion: 4 years
• Campus Location: Online
• Full-Time/Part-Time Status: The graduate certificate is completed on a part-time basis as part of a cohort. The Fall/Spring cohort takes one course in Fall and the other in Spring. The Summer cohort enrolls in one course in each of the summer sessions (Summer I and Summer II).

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: A bachelor's degree is required. A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is expected.
• Transcripts: Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts from all accredited institutions attended and/or from which credit was earned must be submitted.
• International applicants must also submit an official document, including a course-by-course evaluation conducted by a NACES-accredited organization, that validates completion and conferral of a degree, diploma, and/or certificate.
• Statement of Goals: In 500-1,000 words, write a statement indicating your academic and professional interests and goals as they relate to this certificate program.
• Standardized Test Scores: Applicants who earned their baccalaureate degree from an institution where the language of instruction was other than English, with the exception of those who subsequently earned a master's degree at a U.S. institution, must report scores for a standardized test of English that meet these minimums:
  • TOEFL iBT: 79
  • IELTS Academic: 6.5
  • PTE Academic: 53
• Resume: Current resume required.

Certificate Requirements

Number of Credits Required to Complete the Certificate

• Number of Credits Required to Complete the Certificate: 3-6

Required Courses

• Plan of Study Grid Year 1
  • Fall: EPSY 8985 - Teaching in Higher Education 1 (3 credits)
  • Spring: Select one of the following (0-3 credits)
    • EPSY 5987 - Teaching in Higher Education Practicum
    • EPSY 8960 - Seminar Series: Problems in Educational Psychology
    • HRPR 8987 - Teaching in Higher Education Practicum
    • ART 8986 - Teaching Effectively in the Creative Disciplines
• Total Credit Hours: 3-6

GPA Required to be Awarded the Certificate

• GPA Required to be Awarded the Certificate: 3.0 minimum

Department Information

• College of Education and Human Development
• Address: 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA