The Princeton/Community College Teaching Partnership program enables Princeton University graduate students to teach courses at Mercer County Community College, Rowan College South Jersey, Middlesex Community College, or Camden County College. The Community College Teaching Fellowship provides a valuable, mentored experience by a tenured community college faculty member, and helps Princeton graduate students to develop as teachers, providing them the opportunity to design and teach a course.

The Fellowship is spread across two semesters: typically across the Spring and Fall of the same calendar year. During the mentored semester (typically conducted in the Spring Semester), Princeton Ph.D. candidates shadow and learn from a tenured community college faculty member. Fellows sit in on lectures and classes, attend faculty meetings, and are given in many ways a behind-the-scenes view of the life of a professor at a community college. Many Fellows also guest lecture or present during this mentored semester, and they also spend time learning about the student populations in community colleges, as well as the range of resources that are available to them. This information and experience is put to use in the second semester of the program (typically in the Fall) when Fellows have the opportunity to teach a course as the sole instructor of record at a community college.

This professional development opportunity is particularly rich for graduate students because it encourages them to develop effective teaching skills in a highly diverse community college. These skills have been proven to benefit all students, regardless of their career trajectory. 

A cohort of Ph.D. students (who must be enrolled, and must have completed the general examination in their field before the teaching semester) are selected to participate in the program each year. International graduate students must contact the Davis International Center to obtain work authorization prior to beginning their teaching. Applications are solicited each fall from across Princeton University by the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School, in concert with the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning.

The Community College Teaching Fellowship comes with a stipend for the Spring Semester. Fellows are paid by the community college for the course they teach in the Fall Semester. 

In addition to the Community College Teaching Fellowship, the Graduate School offers a range of immersive experiences, all structured to support graduate students' timely completion of their degree program. Most of the fellowships are offered throughout the academic year and/or during the summer, and include the University Administrative Fellowship Program and the GradFUTURES Social Impact Fellowship Program. 

All graduate students must adhere to the Graduate Student Employment policy when participating in an opportunity that is compensated or funded by an external entity. This includes participating in internships and receiving compensation from private sector organizations, paid positions at national government labs or research institutes, and research assistantships funded by institutions outside of Princeton. Graduate students must obtain approval from their faculty adviser prior to acceptance of a position and must also confirm elibibility with the Graduate School. Additionally, all international graduate students must review and comply with guidelines on the Davis International Center’s Employment Page so as not to risk violating their visa immigration status.

Questions? Please email Assistant Dean for Professional Development James M. Van Wyck.

Note: the priority deadline is November 15th.