The United States currently faces a critical shortage of computer science faculty at a time when student interest in the field is expanding rapidly. To address this shortfall, the Stanford Computer Science Department has created a new graduate certificate program in Computer Science Education designed specifically for people who already hold a Ph.D. in another discipline and who already have a track record of success as teachers. The goal of this one-year program is to prepare students to take teaching positions in colleges and universities that are currently unable to hire faculty in computer science.
For the 2018-19 academic year, admissions will be on a rolling basis, with coursework beginning during the Fall 2018 quarter. All courses will be taken in-person at Stanford.
We intend to offer full funding (tuition + stipend) for all students accepted to the program during the first year of the certificate program.
Program Overview
The certificate program will consist of the following courses, which should be taken roughly in the order listed:
- CS 106B (Programming Abstractions)
- CS 208E (Great Ideas in Computer Science)
- CS 107 (Computer Organization and Systems)
- CS 103 (Mathematical Foundations of Computing)
- CS 108 (Object-Oriented Systems Design)
- CS 298 (Seminar on Teaching Computer Science)
- CS 399 (Independent Project)
Students enrolled in the program will be primarily focused on learning the material in the academic courses, but they will also be engaged in observing and practicing computer science pedagogy. The CS 399 project should be tailored towards creating course materials and content for a proposed course that the student plans on teaching.
Students will be required to be a Course Assistant (Teaching Assistant) for one computer science course while they are in the program, and the stipend for that quarter will be paid through the Course Assistantship.
Application Requirements
Admission to the graduate certificate program in Computer Science Education is limited to candidates who meet the following additional requirements:
- An earned doctorate in an academic discipline other than computer science (must be completed by the beginning of the Fall 2018 Quarter).
- Experience and evidence of excellence in teaching (e.g., via teaching evaluations) at the university level.
- Successful completion of a standard introductory programming sequence, presumably as part of an earlier degree.
Application Process
Applicants should send the following application materials to csed@cs.stanford.edu:- Curriculum Vitae.
- Unofficial Transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate study.
- A one-to-two page teaching philosophy statement that describes your teaching beliefs and practices.
- A list of courses you have taught along with any associated teaching evaluations.
- A one-page personal statement describing why you have decided to teach computer science, and how you think you will use your primary field of study to influence your teaching.
Additionally, applicants should have two letters of recommendation sent by letter-writers to the same address, with at least one letter concentrating on your teaching experience. Recommendations that focus on your research strengths will carry relatively little weight.
Additional Information
Please direct any additional questions to the program director, Chris Gregg, at cgregg@stanford.edu.
