Teaching Opportunities in the Department
Application Process
The Department of English is now accepting applications from individuals interested in teaching Writing 1, Washington University’s freshman writing course. Qualified applicants must have relevant teaching experience and a Master’s degree or Ph.D., but may have training in any discipline in the humanities, sciences, or social sciences. We especially encourage applications from graduate and post-doctoral students seeking teaching opportunities beyond their home field, individuals with backgrounds in creative writing, and lecturers who have taught a variety of writing courses at the college level.
Application Deadlines:
For WU graduate students (from outside of English), February 1.
For WU MFA students, February 1.
For lecturers interested in teaching in the fall term: April 15
For lecturers interested in teaching in the spring term: December 1
Interested candidates should read the Writing 1 Overview before applying to get a sense of what the course is about and what kind of commitment they would be making by agreeing to prepare for and teach it.
To apply, please send the documents listed below to Dr. Debra Lohe, Director of Writing Courses, Campus Box 1122, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri, 63130 (please note: you can also email them to dlohe@artsci.wustl.edu).
Required application documents:
1. A letter of application describing your interest in the course and your suitability for teaching it (including a statement about your teaching experience).**2. A current Curriculum Vitae.
3. Course evaluations from any class(es) you have taught recently (if you have taught writing of any kind we would particularly like to see evaluations from these courses).
4. [For Graduate Student applicants only]: A statement from your department chair or graduate advisor verifying that you are in good academic standing and well-suited to teach a writing course.
Upon reviewing application materials, we may request an interview and/or additional materials. Applicants who are accepted to teach Writing 1 will normally attend about a week's worth of training (for spring applicants, this will happen over several days in May and August; for fall applicants, it will happen over several days in October and January). In these sessions, we will introduce and explore details of the curriculum, as well as discuss such topics as standardized grading. Instructors will be compensated for time spent in these sessions upon completion of the week-long training.
Entry into the Writing 1 classroom is contingent upon successful preparation and full participation in this training. The department reserves the right to keep any instructor from teaching if he or she is not fully prepared to meet the demands of the course.
** Individuals who have interest and are qualified to teach courses in other areas or programs, including upper-division expository writing courses, should indicate their desire for consideration for this kind of work in addition to teaching Writing 1 in their letter of application. Teaching in these areas is generally contingent upon success in Writing 1.