The work of the 75 institutions participating in PhD Career Pathways has already provided valuable information about the careers of humanities PhD alumni and the career aspirations of humanities PhD students and informed positive programmatic changes at participating universities. The Humanities Coalition network is building on this work to enhance the knowledge base and suite of promising practices that better support preparation for diverse humanities careers.
Three cohorts were created and 16 institutions were selected based on proposed projects in the following areas: Preparing for Diverse Careers, Grant Writing and Securing Resources, and Building Professional Relationships
Humanities Coalition Webinar
Preparing Humanities PhDs for Careers in Grant-Writing and Resource Development
On May 1, 2-3p EST, project directors discussed their programs, shared expertise, and offered insights to the CGS community and beyond.
Watch the recorded webinar here.
Speakers:
- Dana Williams, Dean of the Graduate School, Howard University
- Emily Barman, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost of Graduate Education, Loyola University Chicago
- Katie Anthony, Interim Dean of the Graduate School, University of Southern Mississippi
Whether they continue in academia or pursue careers in other sectors of the workforce, PhD alumni in the humanities often require skills in entrepreneurship, grant-writing, and the cultivation of funders to support research, scholarship, and programs. Responsibilities may involve writing compelling grant proposals as well as understanding the broad range of potential funders and their expectations. Yet based on data from the PhD Career Pathways project, grant-writing was identified as an area where many PhD alumni had not received formal preparation.
To remedy this gap, institutions participating in the Mellon-funded Humanities Coalition have developed projects that provide current humanities doctoral students with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively secure resources for the work they will undertake in their future careers. While these projects are focused on the humanities, many of their lessons are transferable to training in other disciplines.
Humanities Coalition Advisory Committee Members
Carlos Alonso, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Vice President for Graduate Education at Columbia University
Antoinette Burton, Director of the Humanities Research Institute at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Susan Carvalho, Dean, University of Alabama Graduate School
Associate Provost
Joy Connolly, President of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)
Patricia Easton, Executive Vice President and Provost at Claremont Graduate University
Stephen Kidd, Executive Director of the National Humanities Alliance (NHA)
Jim Grossman, Executive Director of the American Historical Association (AHA)
Paula Krebs, Executive Director of the Modern Language Association (MLA)
Preselfannie Whitfield McDaniels, Dean, Division of Graduate Studies at Jackson State University
Robert Townsend, Program Director for Humanities, Arts, and Culture at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS)
Maren Wood, CEO and Director of the Center for Graduate Career Success at Beyond the Professoriate
Read the Latest Career Pathways Research Brief
October 2022: Academic Professional Development for PhD Students in Selected Science Fields: Who is Participating?