UO's awards for GE instructors are designed to recognize teaching excellence by GEs who have demonstrated a commitment to developing their teaching, while at the same time making satisfactory progress on their academic degree program. In 2026, the Teaching Engagement Program and the Division of Graduate Studies are co-sponsoring these awards for outstanding graduate employee (GE) contributions to teaching:
- The Graduate Teaching Excellence Award (department/program nomination). Two awards of $1,000 will be given to GE instructors who are nominated by their department or program.
- Any students nominated by their department/program who are not selected as one of the two awardees will automatically be considered for the Graduate Instructor Teaching Award.
- The Graduate Instructor Teaching Award (self-application). In 2026, three awards of $1,000 will be given to GE instructors who apply.
On this page, find award details, eligibility criteria, process and materials to submit, and guidance for drafting a Teaching Statement. Information will apply to both awards except where otherwise specified.
Award details
- Five awards of $1,000
- Two will be awarded to GEs nominated by their department/program for the Graduate Teaching Excellence Award
- Three will be awarded to GEs who apply for the Graduate Instructor Teaching Award
- Deadline for submission of nomination and materials: Monday, May 4
- Funds will be disbursed to the student billing account during Spring
Eligibility criteria for awards
To be considered for either award, nominees/applicants to awards must have:
- At least 3 terms of experience teaching at UO. “Teaching” here is defined here as holding a GE appointment that works directly with students to as they learn content and skills for a specific course. This could include instructor of record, discussion section leader, lab section leader, or other similar roles.
- Participated in teaching workshops or other teaching-focused professional development while at UO, whether provided by the Teaching Engagement Program or UO Online, the department/program, or another relevant entity.
- A record of teaching excellence, which submitted materials will provide an opportunity to describe and substantiate.
- Made satisfactory academic progress toward completion of degree requirements. Review the Division of Graduate Studies' satisfactory progress requirement.
- Full time enrollment during the Spring 2026 term.
- Submitted a completed application by Monday, May 4, including all required materials.
Only GEs formally nominated by their department or program are eligible for the Graduate Teaching Excellence Award. Any GEs nominated by their department or program who does not win this award will automatically be considered for the Graduate Instructor Teaching Award. The nominees do not need to re-apply for the Graduate Instructor Teaching Award.
GEs who have won the Excellence Award for Graduate Teaching in a prior year are ineligible. GEs who have won a Kimble First-Year Teaching Award in a prior year may apply (the Kimble is no longer active).
Receiving this award may reduce your financial aid award. Please contact the Financial Aid Office prior to applying for this (and any other type of) support.
Process and Materials
Graduate Teaching Excellence Award (department/program nomination)
If you are a department/program wanting to nominate a graduate instructor
- Use an internal pre-application process for students to be considered for nomination, and select a student to nominate. This process can be the same as used in the past for selecting your department’s Graduate Teaching Excellence Award nominee.
- Notify the selected student that they are being nominated, providing them enough time to prepare and submit their portion of the application by Monday, May 4.
- We strongly recommend notifying the student at least one week prior to the May 4th submission date (notifying them by Monday, April 27th or earlier)
- When notifying the student, please copy the Teaching Engagement Program for our records (tep@uoregon.edu) and let the student know they can find details about completing their application by linking to this Teaching Awards for GE Instructors page.
- Identify a faculty member familiar with the GE’s teaching to write the letter of recommendation. Let the student know whether they should anticipate sending the recommendation letter as part of their materials or whether the department intends to submit the letter separately.
- If the department or program prefers sending the letter directly, it can be emailed to tep@uoregon.edu by Monday, May 4.
If you are a GE nominated by your department/program:
Congratulations! Being selected as your department’s nominee is a significant honor, and we look forward to reading your materials. To advance your nomination, please submit the following materials via the online Forms application no later than Monday, May 4, at 11:59pm:
- A Teaching Statement (up to two pages) directed to an audience of educators who are not all experts in your field. The statement should concisely describe the beliefs about and goals you have for student learning and the teaching practices you use to help students meet those goals, and your personal experiences in the classroom. Find additional guidance on Statement criteria below. You will upload this to the form.
- A list of the teaching workshops or other teaching-focused professional development you've participated in while at UO, whether provided by the Teaching Engagement Program or UO Online, the department/program, or another relevant entity. You will enter this into a field in the form.
- 1 letter of recommendation from the faculty member chosen by your department. You will upload this into the form, unless your department lets you know they are sending this directly to TEP.
In the past, we have asked GEs to include downloaded Student Experience Survey (SES) feedback as part of their application/nomination materials. This year, however, an Office of the Provost staff will provide this information to us directly for nominees/applicants. The reason for this change is because the format the SES currently downloads in is very difficult to read. We hope nominees/applicants will still reflect on and reference their Student Experience Survey feedback where relevant to your Teaching Statement.
The Graduate Instructor Teaching Award (self-application)
If you are a GE interested in applying for this award:
Thank you for your interest in this award. We know that teaching is about process, not perfection, and that there are many ways to teach effectively. We hope to read applications from GEs with a range of teaching approaches and experiences. If you meet the eligibility criteria, please do apply! Submit the following materials via the online Forms application no later than Monday, May 4, at 11:59pm:
- A Teaching Statement (up to two pages) directed to an audience of educators who are not in your field. The statement should concisely describe the beliefs about and goals you have for student learning, the teaching practices you use to help students meet those goals, and your personal experiences in the classroom. Find additional guidance on Statement criteria below. You will upload this to the form.
- A list of the teaching workshops or other teaching-focused professional development you've participated in while at UO, whether provided by the Teaching Engagement Program or UO Online, the department/program, or another relevant entity. You will enter this into a field in the form.
- 1 letter of recommendation from the a UO faculty member familiar with your teaching. You will upload this into the form, unless the faculty member would like to email their letter directly to TEP.
In the past, we have asked GEs to include downloaded Student Experience Survey (SES) feedback as part of their application/nomination materials. This year, however, an Office of the Provost staff will provide this information to us directly for nominees/applicants. The reason for this change is because the format the SES currently downloads in is very difficult to read. We hope nominees/applicants will still reflect on and reference their Student Experience Survey feedback where relevant to your Teaching Statement.
Teaching Statement guidance (applies to both awards)
Teaching statements concisely describe the beliefs about and goals you have for student learning, the teaching practices you use to help students meet those goals, and your personal experiences in the classroom. The audience and reviewers for your statement are experienced educators, but they are not all experts in your field. Your statement should be between 1 and 2 pages and will be evaluated on the following criteria.
- In your statement, you offer at least one clear goal for student learning in courses you've taught at UO. Student learning goals can be formulated by considering questions such as: “what do you most want students to be able to do, know, or experience after your course” or “what knowledge, skills, and attitudes are important for students in your field?”
- In your statement, you clearly connect student learning goals to specific methods, practices, activities, or assignments you use that support students in achieving your learning goals.
- In your statement, you give a sense of your personal perspective, experiences, or positionality with well-chosen, specific examples from your teaching experiences at UO.
- In your statement, you describe your use of inclusive teaching practices. Inclusive teaching engages and values every student and attends to the social and emotional climate of the class. You can learn more about inclusive teaching on the Inclusive Teaching page of TEP’s website.
- In your statement, you demonstrate your use of evidence-based teaching methods. Evidence-based teaching draws on what we know about how students learn to engage, challenge, and support them. You can learn more about evidence-based teaching on the Research-Informed teaching page of TEP’s website.
- In your statement, you reflect on your teaching experiences and show a commitment to improvement. Improvement over time can be demonstrated by considering questions such as: “what trends have you noticed in your students’ performance or in their feedback and how have acted on them?" or “how have you engaged with teaching topics that are specific to our campus, relate to your discipline, or may impact student learning nation-wide?”
More information about inclusive teaching, engaged teaching (which is about reflection and improvement) and research-informed teaching can be found on our Teaching Excellence page. For questions about these award or application materials, please contact the Teaching Engagement Program via email at tep@uoregon.edu.
AI Use Guidelines:
We are excited to read your practices, reflections, and experiences in your voice. Know that we are not assessing writing style as part of the criteria. Because your practices, reflections and experiences are what we are most interested in, we ask that you not use AI tools as part of your writing process for the Teaching Statement, with the possible exception of 1) using it for translation or 2) for proofreading. If you do use AI for translation or for proofreading, include an AI use acknowledgement, which would specify the tool name and version, and how you used it.