This seminar gives fellows who have completed or are close to completing the dissertation a set of skills they will need to transition from being good researchers to successfully negotiating their first faculty appointment. Rather than focusing on the presentation and critique of fellows’ works, this seminar focuses on building the skills fellows need to navigate the challenges they will face in the years immediately following the completion of the doctoral degree. While there is an emphasis on preparing fellows for the academic job market, the seminar will also include information about postdoctoral appointments or fellowships and other opportunities. There are presentations on the preparation of the CV, the composition of cover letters, and the drafting of an appropriate job talk as well as discussion about turning the dissertation into a book or a series of publishable articles, as appropriate. The seminar also includes an introduction to the system of peer review and presentations on publication strategies during the early postdoctoral years. This three-day seminar takes place in September and targets fellows who will be on the job market the following spring semester.

The 2009 Preparing for the Professoriate Seminar will be held September 24-26 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The application opens Monday, June 29 and closes Monday, July 27.  Contact mellonmays@ssrc.org with questions.