SCHOLARLY PURSUITS: A GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE GRADUATE YEARS Seventh Edition by Cynthia Verba A publication of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Harvard University SCHOLARLY PURSUITS: A GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE GRADUATE YEARS SEVENTH EDITION WITH SAMPLE APPLICATION ESSAYS, FELLOWSHIP PROPOSALS, CURRICULUM VITAE AND COVER LETTERS FROM CANDIDATES IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES OF 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 PhD’s who shared so generously about their experiences in academe, without whom this booklet could not have been written. Copyright © 2005 by the President & Fellows of Harvard University ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cynthia Verba has been serving as Director of Fellowships in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences since 1986. Prior to that, she was Associate Director at Harvard’s Office of Career Services, with responsibility for overseeing academic and nonacademic career services for graduate students and PhDs. Her work at Harvard in the area of professional development for PhDs began in 1978. She holds a PhD in musicology from the University of Chicago, and continues to be active as a publishing scholar and teacher. 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 has also served as Chair of the Committee on Academic and Nonacademic Employment of the American Musicological Society from 1979-1985. She has been teaching courses in music history at the Harvard University Extension School since 1977. Her publications in the area of grantsmanship and professional development include the following works which have been published by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Minorities in Academe: The Concept of Becoming a Scholar (revised version, 1996), the annual fellowship guides, The Graduate Guide to Grants, The Harvard Guide to Postdoctoral Fellowships, and Fellowships for Harvard GSAS Students. She has also written Careers for Musicologists, published by the American Musicological Society in 1986, and was a contributor 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 published Music and the French Enlightenment: Reconstruction of a Dialogue, 1750-1765 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), and more recently, a chapter, “Music and the Enlightenment” in The Enlightenment World (London and NY: Routledge, 2004), and a forthcoming chapter, “Between Reason and Feeling: Gender in the Tragédies Lyriques of Jean-Philippe Rameau” (to be published by Yale University Press), as well as numerous articles and reviews. i TABLE OF CONTENTS I. SCHOLARS AT WORK: AN OVERVIEW OF THE ACADEMIC PROFESSION....................... 1 Scholarly Beginnings: The Decision-Making Process to Become a Scholar in a Given Field ................................................................................................................................................. 1 What Do Scholars Do, And Where Do They Do It? .............................................................................. 1 What Are Some of the Steps on an Academic Ladder? ......................................................................... 2 What Are Some Distinctive Features of Life in Academe? ................................................................... 3 What Are Some Things You Should Know About the Academic Job Market? .................................... 4 Faculty Salaries ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Minorities ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Women ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Citizenship.............................................................................................................................................. 7 II. VIEWS FROM MINORITIES IN ACADEME .................................................................................. 8 Report on a Panel Discussion: “Building for the Future, Dealing with the Present” ............................. 8 III. THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: PLANNING AND SETTING PRIORITIES.................................................................................... 11 The Nature of the Graduate Program, Its Principal Stages................................................................... 11 Roadmap to the Academic Advising Process in Graduate School: The Formal and Informal Routes to Helpful Advising ............................................................................................ 13 After the General Examinations: Refining or Choosing a Dissertation Topic in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Maintaining Momentum………………………………………………………..15 Practical Tips on the Mentoring Process Across All Fields, From a Recent Panel Discussion...................................................................................................................................... 15 Special Issues for Women: Access to Mentoring and Other Channels for Professional Development.................................................................................................................................. 17 The Harvard Task Force on Women in Science and Engineering: Recommendations Concerning Equal Professional Development Opportunities for All Students.............................. 18 Acquiring Teaching Experience and Improving Teaching Skills......................................................... 18 Engaging in Professional Activities: Attending Conferences, Delivering Papers................................ 19 Acquiring Language Skills in Relation to Research............................................................................. 20 Participating in Departmental Activities .............................................................................................. 20 Seeking a Position as House Tutor, Freshman Proctor, or GSAS Resident Advisor .......................... 21 Broadening Career Options .................................................................................................................. 21 Sample Application Letter for a House Residential Tutor Position .................................................... 22 Acquiring Letters of Recommendation and Setting up a Dossier ....................................................... 23 Combining Personal Life with Professional Life in Academe ............................................................ 23 Four Tips for Graduate Students from the Incoming Dean of GSAS: Orientation, 2005........................................................................................................................... 24 IV. FINISHING THE DOCTORAL DEGREE IN A TIMELY FASHION: THE DISSERTATION AS A KEY FACTOR................................................................................. 26 Stages of the Dissertation Process in the Humanities and Social Sciences.......................................... 26 The Dissertation from the Student Perspective: Choosing a topic, choosing advisors, surviving the research and writing stage, getting a life………………………………………………………… 28 The Dissertation from the Faculty Perspective .................................................................................... 31 ii V. GRANTSMANSHIP IN SUPPORT OF STUDY OR RESEARCH: WRITING A FELLOWSHIP PROPOSAL OR STATEMENT OF PURPOSE ............................................... 34 Making Use of the Fellowship Services of GSAS .............................................................................. 34 Applying for Fellowships in the Early Stages of Graduate Study: The Predissertation Proposal ......................................................................................................................................... 35 Writing the Dissertation Proposal in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Special Considerations for Research Abroad ............................................................................................. 36 Project Review for Research on Human Subjects................................................................................ 44 Some Basics on Taxes and Fellowships............................................................................................... 44 Samples of Winning Fellowship Proposals: Predissertation Fellowship Proposals............................. 46 Samples of Winning Fellowship Proposals: Dissertation Fellowship Proposals ................................. 58 Sample Biographical Essays for Fellowship Applications................................................................... 87 Sample Curriculum Vitae for Fellowship Applications ....................................................................... 90 VI. PUBLISHING SCHOLARLY WORKS ........................................................................................ 92 Publishing Journal Articles or Book Reviews ................................................................................... 92 Publishing Books .................................................................................................................................