Experiential Learning Faculty Fellows Program

As the Faculty of Arts & Science continues to work towards its goal of expanding experiential learning (EL) opportunities for Arts & Science students, we are pleased to offer the Experiential Learning Faculty Fellows Program again in 2025–26.

Program Goals

The goals of the Experiential Learning Faculty Fellows Program are to:

• Support expansion of course-based experiential learning initiatives.
• Provide structured supports to assist faculty members in developing and administering sustainable experiential learning courses.
• Create a strong community of experiential learning practitioners across multiple disciplines, who can then serve as vectors and champions of experiential learning across the Faculty of Arts & Science, seed new opportunities and share their expertise with other faculty members.

Program Overview

• Fellows work to build a new experiential learning course or add an experiential learning component into an existing course.
• Fellows commit to develop the experiential learning course in 2025–26 and to deliver the course at least three times, beginning in 2026–27.
• $16,000 funding will be provided to support course development and delivery.
• Faculty members from across all Arts & Science academic units are encouraged to participate.

New Courses Emerging from the Experiential Learning Faculty Fellows

Over the first 3 years of the Experiential Learning Faculty Fellows Program, 19 experiential learning courses have been created across Arts & Science. Courses span 18 different disciplines, levels (i.e. first year to fourth year), and experiential learning types (e.g. academic internship courses to organization-partnered project courses). For an example of how these courses have impacted students, Arts & Science news has highlighted one of the courses developed through the Faculty Fellows Program.

Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates must be either continuing status stream or hold a continuing appointment at the assistant, associate or full professor rank (tenure or teaching stream) in the Faculty of Arts & Science (St. George campus).
• Experiential learning initiatives that fall under the U of T Institutional EL Framework are eligible; courses should be partnership-based and the experiential learning course component should be mandatory for all students.
• The experiential learning component is expected to comprise a substantial element of the course, i.e. at least 30% of course hours and/or assessment.
• Priority will be given to courses in first-entry undergraduate Faculty of Arts & Science degree programs.
• Courses developed through the Experiential Learning Faculty Fellows Program are intended to benefit and serve the goals of academic units and must be approved by the chair, academic director or principal as part of the application process. One of the ways fellows funding may be used is towards a 0.5 full-course equivalent (FCE) course release, but teaching release is optional, not a requirement of the fellowship, and the unit leader must sign off on the proposed course release.
• The EL course should be delivered for the first time in the 2026–27 year (i.e. applicant should not have a leave or course reduction planned that would prevent them from teaching it in 2026–27).
• While all applications will be considered, there will be a preference to select fellows from a range of programs across the sciences, social sciences and humanities; and from a range of course sizes.

Fellowship Details

• Each fellow will be expected to produce an experiential learning course available to A&S students. The course can be a re-design of a course or a newly proposed course. In the case of the latter, governance procedures must be followed. The course must be intended for offer at least three times starting in 2026–27.
• The Experiential Learning & Outreach Support (ELOS) team will offer pedagogical, governance, partnership development and administrative support, as well as TA training during course development and delivery.
• The fellows program includes a launch event in late September and four workshops held throughout the academic year. Programming is typically scheduled on Fridays. Additional one-on-one meetings between the ELOS team and the fellows are held, as needed, throughout the year.
• The fellows program will commence September 1, 2025. Fellows are also encouraged to attend and participate in an experiential learning showcase and reception each May, which fosters a community of practice among instructors interested in experiential learning.

Fellows’ Commitments

• Build a new experiential learning course or add a substantial experiential learning component to an existing course in 2025–26 and deliver the course at least 3 times, beginning in 2026–27.
• Participate in the scheduled course development workshops and regular one-on-one sessions over the academic year. Participate in quality improvement, evaluation initiative and potential research projects.
• Present at an end-of-year experiential learning showcase.
• Participate in relevant partner recognition event(s).
• Provide a copy of the final course syllabus and learning assessments to ELOS.

Funding Details

EL faculty fellows will each receive a total of $16,000 to use for the development and delivery of their EL course. Funds will be distributed September 1, 2025.

Funding may be used for items including but not limited to: equipment, hiring a research assistant, travel for partner recruitment, honoraria, professional development, or research on the EL course.

Funding may also be used to cover a 0.5 FCE course release. It is highly recommended that course release occurs in the term immediately preceding the EL course, or the term the EL course is being taught for the first time. Course release must be discussed in advance with the chair, director or principal with details included in the letter of support.

Application Package

Applicants are asked to fill out the linked application form. Applicants will be asked for:

• Applicant information
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Interest in or prior experience with EL
• Course information
  • Proposed EL course design or redesign
  • Types of organizations you are interested in partnering with
  • Initial ideas for use of funding
• Letter of support from chair, director or principal.

Applications are due on April 30, 2025.

Apply to the Faculty Fellows Program

Download the Template Letter for Chair, Director or Principal Approval

Deadlines and Timelines

2024–25 Faculty Fellows

• Jessica D’eon, Associate Professor (Teaching Stream), Department of Chemistry
• Yiftach Fehige, Associate Professor, Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology
• Paolo Frascà, Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream), Department of Italian Studies
• Paola Salardi, Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream), Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Questions

Please contact Colin McMahon, associate director of experiential learning at colin.mcmahon@utoronto.ca or Ainsley Goldman, experiential learning educational developer at ainsley.goldman@utoronto.ca.