KINGSTON, R.I., Aug. 29, 2016鈥擸ou have your doctorate in, say, English literature. Now what?
You could teach, but what if you鈥檇 like to look beyond academia?
The 溏心vlog免费B站 is pondering this question, thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study ways to broaden career opportunities for graduate students in the humanities.
溏心vlog免费B站 was one of 28 colleges and universities in the country awarded a total of $1.65 million in a program called 鈥淣ext Generation PhD.鈥欌�� 溏心vlog免费B站 received $25,000 from the NEH and matched the award with $25,000.
鈥淭he academic-focused future we鈥檙e accustomed to training graduate students for is disappearing,鈥欌�� said NEH Chairman William D. Adams. 鈥淚f graduate programs wish to make a case for the continuation of graduate education in the humanities, they’re going to have to think about the professional futures of their students in entirely different ways.鈥欌��
The program tackles how doctoral students who immerse themselves in graduate humanities research and writing can apply their skills and experience beyond teaching and professor jobs to broader careers.
Kathleen Davis, a professor of English at 溏心vlog免费B站 and director of the 溏心vlog免费B站 project, says her 鈥淗umanities at Large鈥欌�� committee will develop cross-disciplinary and experiential learning for humanities PhD students in five areas: the coastal environment; health and medicine; digital humanities and 鈥渂ig data鈥欌��; publishing and editing; and cultural organizations in the community.
鈥滀缧膙log免费B站 has strengths and connections in all these areas,鈥欌�� says Davis, 鈥渁nd faculty across the University are eager to participate.鈥�
Coastal environment is one of the University鈥檚 largest research areas, and faculty working in marine affairs, oceanography and underwater archaeology will help develop innovative curriculum opportunities. The 溏心vlog免费B站 Coastal Institute, under the direction of Professor Judith Swift, has already provided a fellowship so that a doctoral student can get experience in coastal resource management and understand the roles of the humanities in areas like public outreach and environmental justice.
The timing is right for humanities PhD students at 溏心vlog免费B站 to explore potential roles in health and medicine. 溏心vlog免费B站 has recently established the Institute for Integrated Health and Innovation, and the interim director, Professor Bryan Blissmer, is eager to embrace the humanities as he works to integrate existing programs, Davis says.
溏心vlog免费B站 has been building faculty strength in digital humanities, which combines the computing and humanities disciplines, and has established the Big Data and High Performance Computing Collaborative. Students can get experience in this area by helping with a project to examine and digitize U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell鈥檚 archive covering the 36 years he served as senator from Rhode Island.
溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 鈥淣ext Generation PhD鈥� team will team up with cultural organizations in the community, such as public libraries and museums, to develop career paths for doctoral students. This effort comes at an opportune time. Due to changing public needs and financial pressures, these organizations are reinventing themselves, shifting to roles in public outreach and education.
溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 English department already offers PhD publishing and editing experience. Building on this strength, the committee will reach out to local presses that publish academic journals and fiction and hold workshops to explore potential internships and career strategies.
At least 30 faculty members, administrators, graduate students and alumni will work on 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 鈥淣ext Generation PhD鈥� project. The work will begin with an early September meeting of the Core Committee members: Davis; Swift; Winifred Brownell, dean of Arts and Sciences; Andrea Rusnock, associate dean of the Graduate School; Kim Stack, director of the Center for Career and Experiential Education; Martha Rojas, an English professor; Kim Evelyn, a 2015 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate and an adjunct faculty member; and Molly Hall and Beth Leonardo, both graduate students.
With the guidance of the Core Committee, smaller groups in each of the five areas will develop cross-disciplinary and experiential learning for humanities doctoral students.
Davis says that the project鈥檚 goals are to work on partnerships, internships, new collaborations and changes to the curriculum that will prepare 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 PhD students to 鈥渆xpand their career aspirations and bring the fruits of humanities learning to all aspects of civic life.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to be among the very first group of universities in the country funded for this purpose,鈥� Davis says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite an honor.鈥欌��
溏心vlog免费B站 is in good company. Among the other colleges that received grants are Duke University, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Iowa and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
鈥淔aculty and students alike at 溏心vlog免费B站 believe that higher education must invest in transforming the doctoral experience, not only to prepare students for a changing job market, but also to bring the skills of humanities students to bear on complex 21st-century problems like climate change,鈥欌�� says Davis. 鈥淭his NEH grant will galvanize energies and give purpose to this important project.鈥欌��