Teach in the UWP for the 2025-2026 academic year

Information for School of the Arts students

Current 2nd-year full-time MFA students from the School of the Arts are eligible to apply in fall 2024 for fellowships beginning in fall 2025 to be held while enrolled in Research Arts.

Terms

• Appointments are made for a full academic year. Instructors teach one section of University Writing per semester.
• These appointments will carry a salary that matches the standard compensation for GSAS teaching fellows as described in the graduate student contract.
• In addition, instructors will also receive a fellowship to cover Research Arts tuition, the health fee, and the student health insurance premium. The appointment will also cover any MFA Thesis Advisement Fee for fall and spring, and any MFA Thesis Fee, if applicable.

Applications Due: Monday, January 13, 2025 @ 5:00 p.m. EST

Email in one pdf file the following application materials in this order:

1. Application cover sheet; attached on the right side of this webpage.
2. Letter of application addressed to the hiring committee that foregrounds your teaching philosophy, interest in teaching writing, relevant experience, and any diversity that you would bring to the program. To see a list of our themed offerings and links to course descriptions, please visit the UWP homepage. To see samples of the kinds of essays students write in University Writing, please visit The Morningside Review.
3. C.V.
4. An academic essay you have written that analyzes and cites sources. You are welcome to revise your essay for this application. Your submission should be no longer than 10 pages. If you wish, you may submit 10 pages of a longer piece.

Use the subject line: "UWP 2025-26 Application.”

Please send your completed application to jrs9@columbia.edu.

Training and Development for SoA Students

All incoming SoA students who will begin teaching in fall 2024 are required to take a preparatory seminar, Teaching Writing: Theory and Practice (English G6913). The seminar will meet in person in the spring semester, 2024 on Mondays, 12:10-2pm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don’t have teaching experience?
While teaching experience can be extremely valuable, we hire applicants from a wide array of backgrounds who demonstrate their qualifications in many ways.

What should my letter of application look like?
We encourage you to seek out samples of academic application letters to familiarize yourself with the genre.

Is a C.V. different then a resume?
Yes, we encourage you to seek out samples of academic C.V.s to familiarize yourself with the genre.

Does my writing sample have to be academic?
Can I provide a published piece? What if my sample is longer than 10 pages? We seek instructors whose writing samples demonstrate the things we hope our students will learn: a command of close reading, research that engages meaningfully with sources by analyzing texts and using them to complicate one’s argument, clear and elegant prose that demonstrates a strong grasp of grammar, usage, and punctuation. You may submit a published or unpublished piece of writing. If the piece of writing is longer than 10 pages, please submit an excerpt.