MAY 11, 2023 — UTSA has been accepted into the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Network, an organization that fosters future faculty who are committed to promoting instructional excellence in STEM disciplines in higher education. CIRTL also works to develop and implement innovative, evidence-based STEM teaching practices that support success for all learners.
Supported by the National Science Foundation, the CIRTL Network was established in 2006 and includes over 40 research universities from the U.S. and Canada. Each university in the network houses its own local CIRTL community with unique programs and special areas of expertise to cater to their student body.
The Graduate School will lead participation in UTSA’s local network community, CIRTL@UTSA. The network will allow the Graduate School to offer more courses and skill-building workshops to UTSA’s graduate students to prepare them for teaching roles. It will also provide postdoctoral students with opportunities to participate in structured mentoring and teaching programs with undergraduate students.
“Being accepted into the CIRTL Network will help us provide even more high-impact resources to better prepare our graduate and postdoctoral students on their journey to becoming faculty,” said Ambika Mathur, dean of the UTSA Graduate School. “Joining this community of research universities across the nation is a continuation of our efforts to produce outstanding future STEM instructors.”
The Office of Teaching, Learning and Digital Transformation (TLDT), a unit within the UTSA division of Academic Innovation, will also partner with CIRTL@UTSA. TLDT works with colleges and departments across campus to provide teaching support, course consultations and inventive academic solutions that faculty can use in the classroom. The TLDT unit also helps faculty tailor existing course designs to create new and dynamic learning experiences that promote student success.
“Our team has experience creating enriching learning environments for students across subjects and modalities. This partnership with CIRTL will not only help us to continue developing innovative programs for students here at UTSA, but also for students at universities across the CIRTL network,” said Marcela Ramirez, associate vice provost for teaching, learning and digital transformation. “We’re excited to join this community that’s dedicated to further improving STEM education and teaching methodologies.”
As a member of the network, UTSA will actively work to break down the silos that often exist in higher education—creating a collaborative space to share ideas, best practices and offer instructional support—and further expand the university’s involvement in cross-college teaching and learning communities.
Joining the CIRTL Network advances the university’s Graduate Student Success for Faculty Excellence Initiative, which seeks to advance graduate education at UTSA by enhancing value-added programming and postdoctoral education, recruitment, admissions and diversity, funding opportunities, graduate programs and faculty, and career outcomes.
The UTSA Graduate School is committed to advancing academic excellence in graduate and postdoctoral education and training. The school currently serves more than 4,500 students in more than 100 doctoral, master's and certificate programs.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Come celebrate the doctoral students graduating this commencement season.
H-E-B Student Union Ballrooms, UTSA Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of the graduates of the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St, San Antonio, TX 78203Celebrate the accomplishments of the graduates of the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St, San Antonio, TX 78203First Friday Stargazing gives anyone free access to the night sky using university telescopes and teaching equipment. Weather permitting, experienced astronomers will provide a handful of telescopes of varying designs, give training on how each operates, and point to various astronomical objects that may appear in the sky for that given time of the year. If you have a telescope and do not know how to operate it, feel free to bring it and get instructions on its use.
4th Floor of Flawn Science Building, Main CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.