Associate Certificate Requirements

CIRTL Certificates are nationally recognized certifications. The Associate Certificate is the initial foundation of teaching and learning.  Associate-level participants must attend at least five professional development events on teaching and learning and submit one document.

  • Five events, activities, workshops, or courses centered around teaching and learning practices.
    • One of these events, activities, workshops, or courses must focus on social responsibility (e.g., diversity, equity, inclusion, ethics).
  • A teaching philosophy statement

These activities can be offered by UMB, the UMB Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, regional CIRTL partners (e.g., UMCP, UMBC, JHU, or Howard University), and the national CIRTL network. Participation in these activities can be either face-to-face or online.

Documentation must be submitted on the UMB CIRTL online course site located on Blackboard. Please contact CIRTL@umaryland.edu to request access. 

Badge with the word associate in between the CIRTL and UMB logos

Earning the CIRTL Associate Certificate: One Pathway

There are numerous opportunities, within UMB and outside of UMB, that can be combined to earn a CIRTL Associate Certificate. One pathway is described below. Please direct questions about how other trainings and workshops might count toward a certificate to Jen Aumiller jaumiller@som.umaryland.edu or Erin Hagar ehagar@umaryland.edu. 

Step 1:

Attend CIRTL Events at UMB or watch the recordings of each of these four sessions: 

  1. Backward Design, Learning Objectives, and Learning Taxonomies Session Recording
  2. Foundations of Assessment: Alignment and Rubrics Session Recording
  3. Effective Presentations for Learning Session Recording
  4. Tuesday, April 23rd, 12-1 pm: Fostering Engagement: Active Learning in the College Classroom Session Recording 

For each session, complete a CIRTL Participation Log, including a statement indicating your key takeaways from the session. 

Note: you must complete a separate form for each activity you enter in the log 

Step 2:

Watch ONE of these pre-approved webinars/workshops, to complete the “Learning Through Diversity” CIRTL aim. Each is approximately one-hour in length.  

 OR 

Fill out the CIRTL Participation Log, check “yes” when asked if this fulfills the “Learning through Diversity” aim, and include a statement indicating your key takeaways from the session.

Step 3:

Write a 1-2 page Teaching Philosophy Statement, integrating what you have learned from the sessions with your own personal experiences and learning.  Here are some resources to support you: 

Please save your Teaching Philosophy Statement as a PDF file and use the following naming convention: FirstInitialLastName.TeachingPhilosophy.MMDDYY.pdf  For example, Joe Smith submitting on April 15, 2024, would save his file as JSMITH.TeachingPhilosophy.041524.pdf 

Submit your Teaching Philosophy statement by filling out this form, making sure to answer “Yes” when asked if you are submitting your statement. 

Before pursuing any certificate, please contact Jennifer Aumiller, MEd, the Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Scholars and the Director of the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Career and Professional Development (jaumiller@som.umaryland.edu) to ensure your selected activities or project will count toward certification.