Teaching awards

The Killam Teaching Prize is awarded annually to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching. Recipients are recognized at the graduation ceremonies.

The Killam Teaching Prize is adjudicated within each Faculty at the UBC Vancouver campus, and within the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic at the UBC Okanagan campus.

Contact the appropriate UBC Vancouver Dean's Office or the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic, UBC Okanagan for nomination procedures and internal deadlines.

The announcement for the 2023 recipients of the Killam Teaching Prize will be made in April 2023.

Killam Teaching Prize winners

In recognition of the valuable role that Graduate Teaching Assistants play in our programs, UBC annually honours GTAs with the Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. Up to 19 winners are selected each spring. Successful candidates have met criteria that demonstrate teaching excellence and a high level of esteem for the candidate from undergraduate students and supervisors. The adjudication for this award takes place within the Faculties.

Preparing the Nomination

Award winners' names for 2022/2023 are now posted:

Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award Winners

The next Invitation for Nominations will occur in January 2024.

The Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring recognizes one senior and one mid-career faculty member’s outstanding ability to foster the intellectual, professional and personal development of graduate students.

Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring winners

Each UBC Faculty offers its own internal teaching awards or recognition. Please visit your faculty website or consult your Dean’s Office for information about these opportunities.

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship recognizes exceptional contributions to teaching and learning at Canadian universities. The community of 3M National Teaching Fellows embodies the highest ideals of teaching excellence and scholarship with a commitment to encourage and support the educational experience of every learner.

The 2022 extended nomination deadline was November 25, 2022. The winners are expected to be announced in early 2023.

The next invitation for nominations will likely occur in summer 2023 and updates will be posted here.

Recognizing that UBC has many faculty members who are most worthy of this prestigious recognition, the Provost Office strongly encourages the nomination of colleagues from Faculties and Schools.

Individuals self-nominate for this award, usually coordinated through their home academic unit. The Office of the Provost and VP Academic provides the institutional letter of support for inclusion in the nomination package. Applicants/Heads are invited to contact Dr. Simon Bates, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President Teaching and Learning pro tem (simon.bates@ubc.ca) as early as possible in advance of the due date, for advice on the process, criteria and the nomination materials, opportunities for feedback as the dossier is prepared, and for assistance with preparing the institutional support letter.

Complete nomination packages should be sent to the Office of the Provost and VP Academic by the next internal UBC deadline [likely to be in the fall of 2023]. Following sign-off by the Provost, our office will return the package to the Faculty who must then submit it directly to the competition by the final deadline.

3M nominees and nominators are encouraged to visit the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology’s website, for information on 1-1 consultations, sample dossiers and application advice from recent UBC 3M National Teaching Fellows.

UBC's 3M National Teaching Fellows
Watch the STLHE information session on the 3M National Teaching Fellowship

The West Coast Teaching Excellence Award, hosted by the British Columbia Teaching and Learning Council (BC and Yukon), recognizes excellence in postsecondary teaching over a number of years, primarily at the undergraduate level.

From the BCTLC website: An individual nominated for this award will be characterized by a proven commitment to enhanced student engagement and learning, a reflective and intentional approach to teaching practices, and dedication to teaching improvement including successful implementation of any of the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

This award is an opportunity for recipients who are on the path to move from institutional teaching awards to national teaching awards such as the 3M National Teaching Fellowship.

The BCTLC will select up to five recipients from different post-secondary institutions. Each institution can submit up to two nominees per year. We will hold an internal selection process to determine this year’s nominees from UBC Vancouver.

UBC's West Coast Teaching Excellence Award winners

Application process

Check back in the fall to see information on the 2024 application process. Please see the West Coast Teaching Award web page for details on eligibility, criteria, and what must be submitted in the dossier.

2023 Application process

Internal selection of nominees at UBC Vancouver

Process

• Internal applicants should submit a letter (no more than 4 pages) outlining how their teaching practice over a number of years addresses the criteria for the award.
  • Applicants will not be able to address all criteria in full in such a short space, so they should focus on those they feel their teaching work most strongly supports.
• An internal review committee will review the letters and choose up to two nominees from UBC Vancouver.
  • This review committee consists of:
    • The Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning
    • The Academic Director (or the Deputy Academic Director) of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology
    • One 3M National Teaching Fellow at UBC Vancouver
    • Two other teaching award winners at UBC Vancouver, such as the Killam Teaching Prize or the West Coast Teaching Excellence Award
  • Decisions will be based on the BCTLC West Coast Teaching Award eligibility and criteria
• The Vice-Provost Teaching and Learning will write the nomination letters, and the BCTLC representative from UBC Vancouver (currently the Academic Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology) will forward nominations to the BCTLC Awards Committee by the February 2023 deadline.

Timeline (2022/23)

• Early October: Invitation to submit applications.
• November 25: internal application due (max. 4 page letter, as noted above) to Catherine Aldana, Project Manager, CTLT: catherine.aldana@ubc.ca
• First half of December: internal review committee meets to select nominees
• Mid-December: Applicants informed of internal nomination decision outcome; candidates will be notified shortly thereafter
• Mid-February: application dossiers due to Vice-Provost Teaching and Learning, to facilitate writing nomination letters
• End of February: application dossiers submitted to BCTLC Awards Committee

Contacts

• If you have questions about the award or the process, please contact Christina Hendricks, Academic Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology: christina.hendricks@ubc.ca
• Consultation/advice is available for how to write the internal application materials, and/or the dossier to send to BCTLC; please contact Judy Chan at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology: judy.chan@ubc.ca

The Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology in Canada is presented to CPA Members or Fellows who have made a significant contribution to these areas.

The Award of Excellence in Education recognizes nurses for their outstanding contributions to the profession and demonstrating excellence in relation to the CRNBC Professional Standards for Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners.

The Duncan Graham Award has been recognizing outstanding contributions to medical education since 1969.

The Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education recognizes an engineer who has demonstrated exemplary contributions to the education and development of engineering students at a Canadian higher education institution.

CALT Prize for Academic Excellence

Online Learning Consortium Awards of Excellence

NACTA Teacher Recognition Awards

Bisco National Dental Teaching Award

CFES Mentorship Medal