The UGrow (Graduate Opportunities at Work) Program at the University of Miami was established in 2015 to provide professional training and preparation for humanities and social science PhD students interested in careers other than tenure-track faculty positions. Developed by Tim Watson in the College of Arts & Sciences, in partnership with The Graduate School at the…
Category: Graduate Program Innovation
From Being to Doing: Mobilizing the Humanities
This piece by Anne Krook, a former academic and U of M professor who transitioned to corporate and nonprofit work, discusses the limitations that most graduate programs place on students’ ability to envision themselves thriving in careers other than tenure track professorships. Addressed to faculty, this 14-page paper targets two areas for radical change—the narrow…
Public Humanities Initiatives at University of Wisconsin
The Center for the Humanities at University of Wisconsin supports a number of initiatives designed to connect scholars and their work to the community. These include a graduate certificate, seminars, Mellon-supported fellowships, and many other exciting programs.
Professionalization Initiatives at Vanderbilt
The graduate program in English at Vanderbilt University “recognizes the challenges facing doctoral candidates today and devotes considerable attention to preparing students to enter the profession.” This page describes these professionalization efforts in detail.
Future Humanities: Transforming Graduate Studies for the Future of Canada
Future Humanities is an SSRC-funded initiative to transform graduate study in Canada and engage in global discussions about humanities training and education. It brings together students, faculty, and professionals who have transitioned out of the academy to engage in discussions about the purpose and future of humanities doctorates.
Grants Seek to Foster a Culture Change in Humanities Graduate Education
A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article describes the growing movement towards better preparation for diverse careers. Large organizations such as the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities are devoting significant resources to help humanities departments rise to the challenge of integrating robust professional development into their graduate programs.
National Endowment for the Humanities Announces Next Generation PhD Grant Recipients for 2016-17
On August 9th, 2016, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced nearly $1.7 million in grants to 28 universities as part of its Next Generation PhDs program. The grants are aimed at fostering a culture change within universities by sponsoring career development programs, funding new courses, and hiring staff to advise PhDs on the non-academic…
Georgetown University, Reinvent the PhD Course Development
Reinvent the PhD at Georgetown University is a program supported by the MLA’s Connected Academics. The Course Development Group is a space for faculty to come together to create or redesign graduate courses that prepare students for public engagement and non-academic intellectual work.
Re-envisioning the PhD – Recommendations from National Studies on Doctoral Education
One of the products of a conference held at the University of Washington in 2000, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, this set of recommendations continues to be relevant today. It provides suggestions for better mentoring of graduate students as well as how to diversify the training and knowledge that graduate students receive.
Re-envisioning the PhD – Some Common Concerns
This 26-page report, based on research that preceded the Pew Charitable Trusts-funded University of Washington conference, includes reflections and concerns from faculty, graduate students, industry professionals who hire PhDs, and funding agencies. Like the list of recommendations that grew out of it, this report remains relevant to the problems PhD students and the academy face.