General Requirement
Teaching experience is also required of all Ph.D. students in the Department. This requirement consists of two semesters of assistance with one section of a course documented by two separate completions of SOILS 602 with at least one credit each time. The two semesters of assistance do not have to, but may, involve the same course and this requirement is independent of the requirement at the Master's level. Equivalent teaching experience completed outside of the Department may be substituted for this requirement. Students may waive this requirement only by written concurrence of the thesis adviser, graduate program head, and department head.
Additional Requirement for Departmental Assistantships
Students on departmental assistantships (as opposed to grant or privately funded assistantships) have a maximum teaching responsibility of two sections of an introductory-level course in each semester of each academic year.
English Test for Teaching
Graduate students whose native language is not English are required to take and pass the Penn State American English Oral Communicative Proficiency Test before they can teach at Penn State. The Program in English as a Second Language administers this test. Scores on the test determine any remedial action and when a student can assume teaching responsibilities. Additional information on this test is available at http://aplng.la.psu.edu/academicPrograms/ita_whatIsAEOCPT.php.
