The UF College of Medicine Graduate Student Education Initiative Award annually honors a current College of Medicine PhD student for excellence in education. The UF College of Medicine established this award in 2016 in honor of its 60th anniversary, having successfully matriculated over 1,200 PhD graduates since 1960. These graduates have excelled in positions in research, education and affiliated careers around the world.
A nominee must be a PhD candidate (successfully passed qualifying exam) in good standing in a UF College of Medicine graduate program.
Nominees will submit the following documents (in one pdf file), describing their contributions to the educational mission of the College of Medicine and University, via email to the COM Office of Graduate Education by 5:00PM on March 15):
- Curriculum vitae including list of educational accomplishments.
- A personal statement describing the nominee’s dedication and contributions to the educational mission of the College of Medicine and University. This could include: didactic teaching (invited lectures in courses or separate events), small group teaching, student mentoring, laboratory-based teaching, creation of innovative educational/ learning activities/tools, courses and/or workshops related to teaching, and any other efforts to promote educational excellence (formal or informal). The statement should also describe the nominee’s career plans as they relate to education.
The following should also be submitted directly to the COM Office of Graduate Education on behalf of the nominee:
- Required: at least one letter from a faculty member describing his/her experience with the nominee’s involvement in education, and must include comment as to the quality of the nominee’s teaching efforts.
- Optional: letter of support from an individual(s) that the nominee instructed/mentored during his/her graduate career.
The recipient of the UF College of Medicine Graduate Student Educational Initiative Award will receive an award of $500 and will be recognized during the graduate student awards reception on April 10 in the CGRC atrium.