Teaching Award Guidelines

THE COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES OUTSTANDING TEACHING AWARDS 
Application Criteria and Guidelines

Deadline: February 7th, 2025

The CNS Outstanding Teaching Awards recognize excellence in teaching and pedagogy. The criteria for the CNS Outstanding Teaching Awards are broader than those typically applied for the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award, in that achievement in teaching pedagogy and innovation, impact on student success (e.g., retention, time to degree), and/or leadership in the development or implementation of teaching-based initiatives (e.g., EEP, Equity Action Plans, disciplinary accreditation) may be the basis for nominations. The CNS Outstanding Teaching Award program is administered by both the College and The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Two or three awards will be given to CNS faculty (at least one tenure track faculty member and at least one lecturer). Recipients receive a $1,000 honorarium. 

Eligibility

  • Any full-time faculty member who has been a member of CNS for a minimum of three years and who has taught at least two semesters may be nominated.
  • Faculty who have received the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award or the CNS Outstanding Teaching Award within the past five years are not eligible.
  • Faculty are nominated by department heads/chairs or a suitable designee.

Award Criteria

You are invited to think broadly about teaching when considering who to nominate. Individuals may be nominated based on their teaching skills and/or demonstrated excellence in teaching innovation, commitment to student success, or contributions to the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SOTL) within or outside of UMass Amherst.

The Nomination Process

Use this form to submit a nomination (Nomination Form). You will be asked to provide:

  1. A nomination letter written and submitted by the department head/chair (or a suitable designee) (maximum of three pages). The letter should advocate for the nominee and outline the case for why and how the nominee has met the award criteria.
  2. A personal statement prepared by the faculty member being nominated (maximum of one page). The statement should describe teaching styles, innovations, contributions, and if appropriate, examples of the integration of teaching with research and scholarship.
  3. An abbreviated CV, made pertinent to the award criteria (maximum of five pages).
  4.  Optional letters of support: You may submit one letter of support from a colleague and/or one letter of support from a student. The letters should:
  • provide specific examples of the contributions for which the faculty member is being nominated;
  • describe the relationship between the letter writer and the nominee.

Deadline

Nominations for the CNS Outstanding Teaching Awards are due no later than 5 p.m. on February 7th, 2025.