This is a follow-up post by Meg Ahern, who recently began a new position as a learning specialist at USAID LEARN. Dr. Ahern completed her joint PhD in Women’s Studies & English at U of M in 2012. I’ll start with a confession. In my previous post, I wrote about how useful an academic doctorate can be…
Category: Professional Identity
Career Linguist
Career Linguist is a blog showcasing professions that linguistics PhDs pursue beyond the tenure track. It tracks the professional journeys of people in fields as diverse as consulting, language advocacy, and social media marketing. The blog also includes helpful advice on career transitions and lists current job postings, both of which may be of interest…
Reimagining the Possibilities: Mellon Mini-Course on Health and Humanities
By Jallicia Jolly, PhD Candidate in American Culture Purposeful intellectual work meets publicly engaged humanities in “Health and Humanities” taught by Professor Alexandra Stern. The week-long intensive workshop in critical methods and social engagement invited graduate students to explore how we can use tools from the humanities and qualitative social science to mobilize our work.…
On Mentoring First Generation and Graduate Students of Color
This article from the MLA’s Committee on the Literatures of People of Color in the United States and Canada (CLPC) draws on extensive research to offer targeted advice on mentoring first generation PhD students and graduate students of color. In addition to covering issues like producing scholarship, professional development, and the job market, it includes an extensive bibliography…
Required Graduate Seminar Incorporates Professional Development
Professor Bruce Hayes (Department of French, University of Kansas) has developed a required seminar called Intro to Grad Studies for graduate students in French, Slavic and German. The course combines an introduction to literary theory and criticism with technology training, conference paper preparation, and discussions about the academic job market. Download the syllabus for the course which…
The Future of the Humanities PhD
This article discusses several well-known problems facing PhD programs in the humanities, including high attrition rates, long time to degree, and an unbelievably competitive job market. The authors propose radically altering doctoral education to meet the challenges of a changing world and to bring PhD training into the 21st century.
Humanists in Government
Humanists are using their doctoral training behind the scenes in a variety of U.S. government positions. Their ability to process new information quickly and efficiently and to convey key issues to policymakers in clear and concise language makes them valuable contributors to politics. Humanists in government emphasize that it often takes time and perseverance to…
Phil Skills: Stories of Philosophers Who’ve Forged Non-Academic Careers
Phil Skills is a new website put together by two Philosophy PhDs from U of M, which features interviews with philosophers working in fields as broad as academic publishing, immigration law, management consulting, and national defense. They offer advice based on their own experiences navigating the job search and discuss how they use their academic training…
On the Usefulness of Graduate Student Internships
A history PhD student at the University of Mexico writes about her skepticism when she first learned about internships for graduate students offered through the American Historical Association’s Career Diversity Initiative. When she realized the potential benefits of connecting with historically-minded people and institutions, using historical expertise to enhance public dialogue and cultural preservation, and…
Syllabus: The Many Professions of History
This syllabus by Professor Stephen Aron at UCLA is an example of “a professional development seminar with a practicum component.” In addition to exploring in depth the many professions that historians pursue, the course has a substantial collaborative component, requiring students to engage with digital tools and develop research skills that apply to a broad…