SCHOLARLY PURSUITS a Guide to Professional Development During the Graduate Years
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SCHOLARLY PURSUITS A Guide to Professional Development during the Graduate Years SCHOLARLY PURSUITS A Guide to Professional Development during the Graduate Years Fifteenth Edition With sample application essays, fellowship proposals, Curriculum vitae, and cover letters from doctoral candidates in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University by Cynthia Verba A Publication of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Very special gratitude goes to all the graduate students and PhDs who shared so generously their experiences in academe, without whom this booklet could not have been written. Copyright © 2021 by the President & Fellows of Harvard University ii ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cynthia Verba has served as director of fellowships in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1986 until her retirement in 2020. Prior to that, she was an associate director at Harvard’s Office of Career Services, overseeing academic and nonacademic career services for graduate students and PhDs, starting in 1978. Verba holds a PhD in musicology from the University of Chicago and continues to be active as a publishing scholar. She was a fellow at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College in 1987 and received a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Humanities in 1983 to further her research in musicology. She also served as chair of the Committee on Academic and Nonacademic Employment of the American Musicological Society (AMS) from 1979 to 1985 and more recently served as a member of the AMS Committee on Career-Related Issues for two years. She taught courses in music history at the Harvard University Extension School for more than two decades, retiring in 2009. Verba’s publications in the area of professional development and grantsmanship include: Minorities in Academe: The Concept of Becoming a Scholar (revised version, 1996) and the annual fellowship guides The Graduate Guide to Grants and The Harvard Guide to Postdoctoral Fellowships. She wrote Careers for Musicologists, published by the American Musicological Society (AMS) in 1986, and an adaptation of a Harvard publication for AMS titled Scholarly Pursuits: A Guide to Professional Development for Graduate Students in the Fields of Music, published on the AMS website in 2012. She also contributed to Teaching and Beyond: Nonacademic Career Programs for PhDs, published by the Regents of the University of the State of New York in 1984. In the field of musicology she has written two books: Music and the French Enlightenment: Reconstruction of a Dialogue, 1750–1765 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993; revised edition, 2016) and Dramatic Expression in Rameau’s Tragédie en Musique: Between Tradition and Enlightenment (Cambridge University Press, 2013). In addition, she has published numerous articles and reviews, and has delivered papers at professional meetings and conferences. Her most recent article appears in Rameau Entre Art et Science, eds. Sylvie Bouissou et al (Paris: École des Chartes, 2016). iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ vii Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 What Do We Mean by Professional Development at the Graduate Level? ........................................... 1 Key Graduate Experiences and Skills for Enhancing Professional Development Overview of the Academic Profession ....................................................................................................... 1 Scholarly Beginnings: The Decision-Making Process to Become a Scholar in a Given Field What Is the Nature of an Academic Career? What Scholars Do, and Where They Do It What Are Some of the Steps in the Trajectory for an Academic Career? What Are Some Distinctive Features of Life in Academe? PANEL REPORT Faculty Salaries What Are Some Things You Should Know about the Academic Job Market? GSAS PhD Employment Project—Trends from 10 Years Out Study, REPORT GSAS Exit Survey—Time Series Trends, 2002–2015 Doctoral Recipients from US Universities Women Citizenship Minorities in Academe Academe from the Minority Perspective, PANEL REPORT Chapter Two: Navigating the Advising System, Expanding Professional Activities, Polishing Teaching Skills .......................................................................................................................................... 13 Roadmap to the Advising System in Graduate School: The Various Stages in the Formal Advising Process The Earliest Stage in the Humanities and Social Sciences Departmental Requirements and Individual Choices The Earliest Stage in the Natural Sciences The Second Stage in the Advising Process: Focus on the Dissertation Developing Close Faculty Ties, What to Seek in a Mentoring Relationship: PANEL REPORT Special Issues on Mentoring for Students from Under-represented Groups: Women in Many of the Sciences, Students Who Are First-Generation College Educated, Students With Non-binary Sexual Orientation Channels for Professional Development Expanding Professional Activities Acquiring Teaching Experience and Polishing Teaching Skills Acquiring Letters of Recommendation Using the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning Submitting a GSAS Research Workshop Proposal Attending Conferences, Delivering Papers Acquiring Language Skills in Relation to Research Participating in Department Activities Seeking a Position as House Tutor, Freshman Proctor, or GSAS Resident Advisor iv Combining Personal Life and Professional Life Tips for Entering Graduate Students from a Graduate Dean at Orientation, REPORT Chapter Three: The Dissertation, Managing Its Different Stages, from Choosing a Topic to Finishing in a Timely Fashion .................................................................................................................. 24 After General Examinations, Maintaining Momentum, Getting to Work on the Dissertation Stages of the Dissertation Process in the Humanities and Social Sciences The Dissertation in the Natural Sciences The Dissertation from the Student Perspective, PANEL REPORT The Dissertation from the Faculty Perspective, PANEL REPORT Chapter Four: Writing a Winning Fellowship Proposal ....................................................................... 34 A Crucial Skill and Investment Applying for Fellowships for Dissertation Research: A Question of Timing Applying for Fellowships in the Early Stages of Graduate Study: The Predissertation Proposal Writing the Dissertation Fellowship Proposal The Nature of a Proposal, How the Dissertation Fellowship Proposal Differs from a Dissertation Prospectus Construction of a Polished Argument on the Project’s Contribution to the Field Paradigms and Sample Arguments Dos and Don’ts in Writing the Dissertation Proposal Writing the Fellowship Abstract Further Details on Organizing the Part of the Proposal Related Issues Preparing to Conduct Research Abroad Project Review for Research on Human Subjects On Fellowship Outcomes Chapter Five: Publishing Scholarly Works ............................................................................................ 47 Publishing Journal Articles or Book Reviews, PANEL REPORT Publishing Books, PANEL REPORT Sample Letters to Publishers Chapter Six: Strategies for the Academic Job Market .......................................................................... 58 Entering the Academic Job Market: The Dissertation as a Key Factor in the Decision Steps to Take Once You Decide to Enter the Job Market Perfecting Your Curriculum Vitae The Dissertation Abstract: Discussing the Dissertation’s Contribution to the Field Writing the Cover Letter Deciding on Supplementary Materials to Include in the Application Acquiring Letters of Recommendation for the Job Hunt Keeping Informed of Vacancies and Choosing Where to Apply Keeping a Record of Your Applications Follow-Up The Interview v Short Interviews at Professional Meetings On Campus Visits and the Job Talk Negotiating a Contract The Two-Career Family: The Job Search for Two Academic Jobs Special Considerations for Foreign Students On Not Giving Up Chapter Seven: Strategies for Applying for Postdoctoral Fellowships and Other Research Positions ...................................................................................................................... 73 Applying for Postdoctoral Positions in the Humanities and Social Sciences Writing a Postdoctoral Proposal in the Humanities and Social Sciences How Applying for Postdoctoral Positions in the Natural Sciences Differs from the Humanities and Social Sciences Landing Your First Postdoc in the Life Sciences, PANEL REPORT Other Types of Research Positions in the Field of the PhD Choice of Resume Format for Nonacademic Research and Related Positions APPENDIX A: Sample Winning Fellowship Proposals and Application Materials .......................... 79 Predissertation Fellowship Proposals Dissertation Fellowship Proposals Biographical Essays for Fellowship Applications APPENDIX B: Sample Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letters for Academic Employment .............144 APPENDIX C: Research-Related Positions, Sample Nonacademic Resumes and Cover Letters . 173 APPENDIX D: Guide for Teaching Fellows on Writing Letters of Recommendations .................. 183 APPENDIX E: Two Essays on Writing Fellowship Proposals: SSRC, NEH ............................... 190 On the Art of Writing Proposals The Art of