Applications are now open to the Unit 2 Teaching Development Fund! Please submit your application using the online MachForm.
The deadline for applications is February 1, 2026. Since this date falls on a weekend, applications will be accepted until Monday, February 2, 2025.
The Teaching Development Fund (TDF) assists Unit 2 members in the development of a new program of study, new courses and teaching materials, or teaching skills.
Categories of Grants
Two categories of grants are available:
- Major Grants: two (2) grants, each worth the equivalent of one course directorship in income
- Minor (or other) Grants: five (5) grants of up to $3,000 each.
Eligibility
Teaching Development Fund grants are available to Unit 2 members only.
To be eligible for a Major grant, members must be in the bargaining unit or have been in the bargaining unit within the ten (10) months preceding the application deadline. As well, they must have held at least one Type 1 or equivalent position (e.g., one CD, three tutor (type 2) contracts, etc.), in each of the two twelve-month periods ending August 31 preceding the application date (i.e., Sep 1, 2023–Aug 31, 2024 and Sep 1, 2024–Aug 31, 2025).
A minimum of 1/3 of the awards will be made to applicants who self-identify in the application form as a member of one or more of the designated employment equity groups.
Application and Proposal Instructions
Your application must include:
- a copy of your CV (highlighting your teaching and teaching development),
- the names of two references familiar with your teaching (referrees should send letters directly to teaching@yorku.ca), and
- a detailed project proposal
Your proposal, maximum four (4) pages in length, should describe or explain:
- the scope and objectives of the proposed course/project for which you are seeking support, including (where relevant) the program of study, new course, teaching materials, and/or teaching skills that the grant will help you develop;
- the support/resources needed to design and prepare it effectively;
- the potential benefits of your proposed course/project to your home department(s)/hiring unit(s);
- how the project’s outcomes may extend beyond the proposed class or project;
- any preparatory work already done (including, if applicable, a bibliography);
- your proposed timeline for or schedule of the work to be completed.
Adjudication Process and Awards
An adjudicating committee comprising two elected Unit 2 members and the head of the Teaching Commons will award grants (usually by mid-March) based on the academic merit of the proposal. Successful applicants, in either category, will receive their grant in the form of payroll remuneration, normally throughout the 2025–26 fall/winter term(s), but may also choose to spread the grant out across the entire year (Sept 1, 2025–Aug 31, 2026) or hold it in a single term. The remuneration is income and subject to payroll taxation.
Major Grant recipients also receive one type 1 (1.0) applicable prior experience (APE, or seniority) credit but must abide by the cap on positions as set out in Article 12.05.1 during the academic year in which the grant is held.
Any questions? Contact Joseph Tohill, Vice-President Unit 2, at vpu2@cupe3903.org