University of North Carolina at Asheville

UNC Asheville is North Carolina’s only public liberal arts university. Our educational mission is to enrich the lives of our students though broad, interdisciplinary learning with a strong emphasis on critical thinking skills. Our curriculum is nationally recognized for a tradition of faculty collaboration across academic fields and for a commitment to cultivating ethical, globally minded citizenship. At UNCA, all students gain a broad foundation in arts and humanities in addition to a major in their chosen discipline. This emphasis on integrative knowledge and learning is also reflected in the requirements for Teaching Fellows: each earns both a degree in their major field as well as licensure to teach.

Preparation for a teaching career must include a variety of multicultural and co-curricular experiences. UNCA recognizes the value of experiential opportunities and offers travel scholarships for all Teaching Fellows to participate in both national and international travel. Each January, Fellows travel to school systems in such urban centers as New York, Washington, DC, Miami, New Orleans, and San Francisco. Further, all Fellows are supported to participate in one of two summer programs in Ghana, West Africa or Cambridge, England. Fellows participating in both experiences fulfill general education requirements in art and science or art and humanities and visit a variety of primary and secondary schools to learn about the British and Ghanaian educational systems. Both programs include travel around the area and the Cambridge Program includes several days in London and a release from coursework for a designated period in order to pursue interim international travel. The design of these Programs reflects one of our core beliefs --that exposure to diverse cultures strengthens public education and prepares future teachers to prepare students for citizenship in a global world.

Situated in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, UNC Asheville allows future teachers many chances to learn and grow right at home in the “land of the sky.” Each UNCA Teaching Fellow, starting with the freshman semester, works in a variety of public school settings: adopting classrooms, tutoring elementary, middle and high school students in area schools and after school programs, working with youngsters from different heritages, serving as discussion leaders for high school students, and conducting classroom-based research through UNCA's nationally recognized Undergraduate Research Program.

Teaching Fellows also benefit from UNC Asheville’s community-minded campus culture, which fosters diverse co-curricular opportunities. We encourage all students to participate in school and community service projects, campus organizations, travel, study and research and a variety of cultural and social events. This highly integrated educational environment allows many Fellows to graduate with two or more areas of licensure and it enhances their teaching and graduate study options.

UNCA is small by choice and dedicated to giving close attention to every student. As a Teaching Fellow, a student joins a community that prioritizes and nurtures the personal, professional, and academic development of every member. Teaching Fellows quickly come to know each other and their faculty. Many UNCA faculty are scholars who are defining their fields—yet our University is known for our student-centered environment in which teaching is paramount. All Teaching Fellows at UNCA are invited to be members of the University Honors Program, which provides additional cultural and academic opportunities. Fellows have received major graduate fellowships, including the coveted Fulbright and James Madison Fellowships.

Our Teaching Fellows are a cherished group and a point of pride for the University. To learn more please visit UNC-Asheville's Teaching Fellows Web Sites at http://www.unca.edu/tf