Wednesday, 23 April, 5:15-6:15 pm

  Evaluating Students' Coursework
Prof Ryan Falcioni

Wednesday, 14 May, 5:15-6:15pm

An Intro to Teaching Islamic Studies

Prof Hamid Mavani, CGU

The School of Religion’s Career and Teaching Practica are each composed of a series of four individual practicum held in the fall and spring semesters. Our intended audience is one of graduate students from both the School of Religion and the Claremont School of Theology who are interested in obtaining and maintaining faculty positions teaching in their chosen fields of religion and theology. The Career Practica focus on skills that are needed to obtain such a position, and the Teaching Practica focus on skills needed to successfully engage teaching college students in the fields of religion and theology. Participation in the Career and Teaching Practica is voluntary.

Each Career Practica Series is composed of four sessions whose subjects are chosen from a spectrum of topics. These include Preparation of Curriculum Vitae, Interviewing Skills and Tips, Mock Interviews, Professional Ethics, Getting Your Work Published, From Graduate Student to Faculty Colleague, Faculty Development and Mentoring, Grant-Writing, and Stress Management. However, the program is flexible and responsive to students’ suggestions and requests. Consequently, we continue to modify and add sessions based on student feedback.

Each Teaching Practica Series also consists of four sessions in which topics integrally related to teaching in fields of religion and theology are presented. The topics include Syllabi Design, The Art of Teaching Religion, Assessment of Students’ Coursework, The Use of Technology in the Classroom, and Stress Management among others. Future plans include expanding the Teaching Practica to include sessions on teaching students in the area of comparative religions. In addition, we intend to include sessions focusing on teaching students in the fields of religion and theology via distance learning. This program is also flexible and responsive to needs expressed by our students.

The Career and Teaching Practica are open to all CGU School of Religion graduate students and doctoral students from the Claremont School of Theology who are interested in an academic career teaching students in the fields of Religion and Theology. We welcome graduate students at all stages of their academic programs, those actively participating in an academic job search as well as those who are contemplating one. 

At CGU’s School of Religion, in addition to our own outstanding faculty and our stellar alumni, we enjoy a close collegial relationship with the faculty of the Claremont School of Theology. In addition, many faculty members of the undergraduate Claremont Colleges are good friends of the School of Religion. Consequently, we are fortunate to have speakers who are established scholars in their fields as well as much-respected faculty members. Our roster of past speakers also includes the Dean of the School of Religion, the Dean of the School of Theology, the Vice-Provost and the Associate Provost of Claremont Graduate University. There are no limitations on the number of times a student may attend the Career and Teaching Practica or the individual sessions. Indeed, many of our students have discovered the advantage to our rotation of expert speakers is the variety of perspectives on each topic.

Besides a bounty of helpful information, those students who complete all four sessions of one Career Practica will receive a portfolio–enhancing letter from the Dean of the School of Religion.

Catherine Tinsley Tuell

Director of Academic Placement Services

CGU School of Religion