Teaching Awards

Teaching awards celebrate teaching that has lasting, positive effects on students and deepens student learning. Nominate an instructor or colleague and honour their approach to teaching excellence.

University of Waterloo teaching awards

UNIVERSITY-WIDE TEACHING AWARDS

Distinguished Teacher Awards

  • Honours university instructors who have demonstrated excellence in teaching at the University of Waterloo.
  • Open to all who teach students at Waterloo, the DTA is not limited to those holding faculty appointments.
  • Four recipients are announced each year in March.

Amit & Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student

  • Open to all students who have a formal teaching role at the University of Waterloo.
  • Recognizes four outstanding student instructors each year. 

Certificate in University Teaching Award

  • Awarded annually to a graduate student who shows a strong commitment to their development as a university teacher and demonstrates the highest achievement on completion of the CUT program.

Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) Online Teaching Awards

  • Recognizes teaching and course design excellence in fully online undergraduate- or graduate-level courses and programs.
  • There are two awards: the Award for Excellence in Online Course Design and the Award for Excellence in Online Teaching.

Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision

  • Established by the Graduate Studies Office and the Graduate Student Association to recognize exemplary faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in graduate student supervision. 
  • Normally, three faculty members will be recognized annually. The winners receive $1,000 (taxable) and are recognized at Spring Convocation.

FACULTY-SPECIFIC TEACHING AWARDS

External teaching awards 

Visit our External Awards page to learn more about each of the five major external teaching awards and to find out how we can help you submit a nomination. 

Prestigious external teaching awards honour excellence in teaching and leadership and raise the profile of excellence in teaching at Waterloo. External awards also offer recipients the unique opportunity to contribute to broad educational change through participation in cross-disciplinary educational conferences and forums. 

Support

Contact Maris Weiss for more information about the Distinguished Teacher Awards and the Amit and Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student. For support for external teaching award nominations, contact Alisa Sivak