Program Quickview
The programs described below can be customized to meet your specific career goals and interests in teaching in higher education.
- Bachelor’s degree; prior master's degree highly desirable for doctoral programs.
- Prior preparation and experience as an educator.
- Tenure-track faculty positions in research universities and most colleges will also require a doctoral degree in the subject area you want to teach.
- Many Options Available: Choose among our advanced certificates, master's, and doctoral programs to best meet your interests and career goals.
- Courses on Teaching: Regardless of the option you choose, you will be able to take courses that will help you become a better teacher in your chosen settings.
- Courses on Higher Education: Choose from a rich selection of courses that will help you better understand and be more effective in higher education contexts.
- Flexible: All programs can be completed full time or part time, starting any semester.
- Online Offerings: You can choose some fully online or hybrid-online courses to reduce trip to campus.
- Opportunities to Add Specializations: With only a few additional credits, you can pursue an Advanced Certificate in Online Teaching or Program Evaluation to make you more marketable and effective.
Warner Programs Focusing on Teaching in Higher Education
There are several different ways you can pursue your interests in higher education at Warner, depending on your specific aspirations and prior academic work. Contact admissions for help in deciding which options may be the best for you.
All the programs listed below are very flexible and can be customized to meet your goals, by strategically choosing electives, tailoring major projects in courses, and most importantly working with faculty with expertise in higher education teaching.
Learn more about our programs preparing online teachers.
All these 30-credit programs have sufficient electives to allow you to pursue other interests and additional specializations, such as an Advanced Certificate in Online Teaching.
To learn more about options, prerequisites, and program requirements, visit programs in teaching (without certification).
Learn more about our programs in health professions education.
Learn more about our doctoral programs in teaching.
Learn more about our doctoral programs in higher education.
Our Approach
Preparing Teachers Who Can Inspire and Lead Change.
At Warner you will find cutting-edge curricula informed by research and best practices, faculty who are passionate and supportive, a shared commitment to social justice and inclusion, and the drive to make education “ever better.”

It’s a movement focused on student-centered education with the goal of increasing intellectual engagement. It’s a commitment to developing “reform-minded” teachers who won’t settle for the status quo. It’s a goal of encouraging teachers to take responsibility for creating a learning environment that’s inviting for all students, no matter how they best learn. It’s an ability to nurture and develop teachers who step up to be leaders by imparting ideas and a vision for where their students and their institution can grow and contribute in meaningful ways. It’s an approach that creates great teachers and true educational leaders.
All of our programs in teaching are firmly grounded in proven research and sound theory. Warner faculty, in conducting research and supporting others, stay on the cutting edge of where learning is and where it’s heading, helping to provide more in-depth knowledge of how people learn by better understanding how the world sees each student, and conversely, how each student sees the world. This ensures that Warner students have a keen understanding of where learning needs to go and the reasons why they will need to teach and engage students differently in the future.
Warner prepares students for teaching and the pursuit of educational endeavors beyond the classroom. We provide the theoretical foundation, the intellectual tools, and the practical experience to help graduates thrive in a wide variety of learning environments.
One of the fundamental pillars of a Warner School education is a commitment to social justice and a keen recognition of a teacher’s responsibility to balance the social inequities of the learning environment. Warner students are taught to be understanding and responsive to different learning styles, to adapt to diverse behaviors, and to be open to a wide spectrum of perspectives. As a result, they are driven to close the gap of social inequities, and build a supportive, engaging learning environment.
Warner graduates stand out – head and shoulders above their peers from other institutions, well prepared for a future in teaching and even better prepared for the future of learning. That’s the Warner difference.
The Warner Advantage
Preparing Graduates to Innovate, Advocate, and Elevate.
- Become a teacher who can create learning opportunities that are inviting and accessible for all students – by being exposed to cutting-edge research and educational innovations.
- Be challenged to be an agent of change, who can effectively introduce innovations that will enhance students’ learning and address current inequities.
- Leverage the reputation of a leading research university to give your degree even more recognition.
- Network with the best and the brightest future colleagues.
- Make yourself stand out when applying for faculty positions by pursuing additional specializations for a few additional credits.
- Learn from an accessible, supportive faculty of researchers and accomplished practitioners who will prepare you in best practices for teaching in higher education.
- Shorten your path to a doctoral degree by earning transferable credits.
- Use your electives and choices for core courses to specialize in your area of interest and/or add advanced certificates.
- Take advantage of online learning options that help reduce trips to campus.
- Choose your own pace by pursuing the program part time or full time, and taking advantage of special summer offerings.
- Start your program any semester.
- Are you a University of Rochester employee? Make sure you make full use of your tuition benefits.
All About Experience

Center for Learning in the Digital Age
Benefit from faculty who are involved in transformative uses of digital technology to enhance teaching and learning. The Warner Center for Learning in the Digital Age collaborates with various educational partners to leverage the potential of digital technologies for education.

Nationally Recognized Expert in Online Education
Program Director Eric Fredericksen’s leadership in the area of online teaching in higher education has been recognized with his appointment to President of the Online Learning Consortium, the most prominent professional organization in the field.

Innovative Transition Grants
Learn from innovative practices and programs to support the participation of youth with in post-secondary education developed by Warner faculty member Martha Mock. This critical work was made possible as part of two $2.5M grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Career Opportunities
Advancing Education and Your Career to the Next Level.
Warner graduates who have pursued a program focusing on teaching in higher education are also better prepared to teach courses as adjunct professors in a variety of institutions, including online universities, and academic leadership positions, such as instructional designer or coach, curriculum coordinator, faculty mentor, to mention a few.

Faculty
An Accessible, Supportive Faculty of Researchers and Accomplished Practitioners.
Teaching in Higher Education Advisor
LeChase Hall 457
(585) 270-1458
mdaley@warner.rochester.edu
Other Program Directors
Raffaella Borasi, PhD (mathematics; online; health professions education)Brian Brent, PhD (higher education; educational leadership)
Jeff Choppin, PhD (mathematics)
Mary Jane Curry, PhD (academic writing, TESOL)
Karen DeAngelis, PhD (educational leadership)
Eric Fredericksen, EdD (online; health professions education)
Doug Guiffrida, PhD (counselor education)
David Hursh, PhD (diversity)
Jayne Lammers, PhD (English)
April Luehmann, PhD (science)
Kevin Meuwissen, PhD (social studies)
David Miller, EdD (online; health professions education; entrepreneurship)
Martha Mock, PhD (inclusion; special education)
Hairong Shang-Butler, PhD (academic writing; TESOL)
Carol Anne St. George, EdD (reading & literacies)
Additional Program Area Faculty
Scholarships
Making Warner Affordable.
Are You a UR Employee? Inquire about your tuition benefits. If eligible, up to 95% of your tuition costs can be covered depending on your position. Contact the UR benefits office at benefitoffice@rochester.edu.

Try Us Out
Get a Taste of What Warner Has to Offer.
Contact admissions to learn more about opportunities for non-matriculated students.
