CTI Graduate Teaching Fellows Program

Group photo of the CTI Fellows from 2025-2026 — 2025-2026 CTI Teaching Fellows

The Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) invites experienced, creative graduate students with teaching experience at Cornell and an interest in teaching and learning to apply to be a CTI Graduate Teaching Fellow. Our teaching fellows work closely with CTI staff to design and implement teaching workshops, events, and resources to foster teaching excellence, innovation, and networking across the university.

Additionally, our CTI fellows serve as teaching ambassadors within their departments and across campus to engage in conversations about teaching, share ideas, and learn, with a focus on creating inclusive learning environments. The program offers participants an opportunity to reflect on their teaching and communication skills as they develop leadership, mentorship, and interdisciplinary collaborative skills.

Through participating in the program, teaching fellows will be able to:

articulate and share their teaching values and methods with peers
explore interdisciplinary perspectives on teaching
enhance their knowledge of evidence-based teaching practices
develop leadership and collaborative skills

Meet our 2025-2026 CTI Teaching Fellows

Eligibility & Requirements

The CTI graduate teaching fellows program is open to all currently enrolled, full-time Cornell graduate students who:

are making satisfactory progress toward their degree
have participated in at least one GET SET institute or conference
have had a minimum of two semesters of teaching experience at Cornell
have obtained departmental approval prior to applying

During the one-year program, participants will be expected to:

attend CTI Fellows training programs in August and January
participate in bi-weekly learning community meetings with other CTI fellows
facilitate one GET SET institute each semester
develop and coordinate one institute or conference with a team of CTI fellows
coordinate one teaching event in their department/field

Awards

Upon successful completion of all program requirements fellows will receive a certificate of completion and a $2000 award.

Deadline

The application period has ended.

Application Process

To apply to be a CTI graduate teaching fellow, submit the application form, which will ask you to include the following information:

current curriculum vitae (CV)
letter of interest
teaching philosophy statement (no more than 500 words, or 1 - 1½ double-spaced pages). For guidance on preparing a teaching philosophy statement, see these resources from the University of Michigan.
letter of support from your advisor/department chair (send to Derina Samuel by email, with the subject line: Grad teaching fellows program recommendation - [student name]).

Please contact Derina Samuel (dss279@cornell.edu) with any questions about the application process.