GSC Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence
GSC and MAGS Awards for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence
Established by the Graduate Student Council (GSC), the GSC Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence recognizes graduate students who have excelled in classroom teaching and make important contributions to the learning mission of the university.
Award
One master's student and one doctoral student is selected for this award each fall semester. Awardees receive a $500 scholarship, and their name is engraved on a perpetual plaque to be displayed in the student’s department until the next award is given.
The recipients of the GSC teaching award serve as Kansas State University's nominees for the annual Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Award. These nominees compete for a $750 honorarium presented at the annual MAGS meeting in the spring. One master’s student and one doctoral student are selected for the MAGS award.
Eligibility requirements
To be considered for the GSC and MAGS teaching awards, the nominee must be enrolled in a graduate degree program and have teaching responsibilities at K-State during the 2025 calendar year.
2025 award nominations will be accepted from departments through September 29.
2025-2026 nomination instructions
As noted in the deadlines table, this award involves a tiered nomination process. Each academic department may nominate one master's and one doctoral student.
Letter of support from department head/chair that addresses how the nominee fulfills award criteria(not to exceed two pages)
Teaching portfolio The teaching portfolio is limited to six (6) pages double-spaced in 12-point font with one-inch margins. The use of headers to distinguish content for the sections outlined below is strongly encouraged.
Teaching Philosophy and Practice [25 points]: Share your teaching philosophy by describing your understanding of how people learn, and how that understanding, in turn, informs what you value most as an instructor and the way you approach teaching. This explanation could include your fundamental understanding of the purpose of education, the nature of learning, and/or your role as a teacher in facilitating that learning. Please describe the instructional strategies and evidence-based practices that you utilize to support your teaching philosophy.
Course Design [25 points]: Connecting course design to your teaching philosophy and practices, describe how you have approached instructional design in one of your courses. Focus on the main elements of instructional design (e.g., objectives, course organization, content and format, learning activities, interaction, assessments) and provide examples from your course along with your rationale for adopting them.
Evidence of Effective Student/Colleague Mentoring [10 points]: Describe your experience with mentoring students outside of the classroom, whether that be related to the courses you teach or in other settings. Additionally, discuss any experience you have with mentoring your peers or colleagues in the context of teaching.
Evidence of Professional Development [15 points]: Explain how you used professional development opportunities to grow in your teaching excellence. If appropriate, how have you aligned professional development in the feedback you have received on your teaching?
Submit a nominationhttps://kstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6DJL7cP10MdQaH4Y
September 29 - Department nomination deadline Each department may nominate one master's student and one doctoral student. Department nominations will be reviewed by respective colleges.
October 13 - College nomination deadline With the exception of the College of Arts and Sciences, each college may select one master's student nominee and one doctoral student nominee. The College of Arts and Sciences may nominate three master's students and three doctoral students.
October 31 - Award selection One master's and one doctoral student will be selected for the GSC Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence by a selection committee composed of graduate faculty and graduate students.
January The GSC award recipients will serve as K-State's nominees for the MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award. Nominations for the MAGS award will be submitted by the Graduate School.
Click on award recipient names to view their teaching in action video.
Robert Sparrow, MS in Hospitality Management and Dietetics
Questions about the nomination process for this award may be directed to Megan Miller, Graduate School assistant director of student success at mmmiller@ksu.edu, 532-6191.