Bridging the Gap: Linking History PhD Training to Non Academic Employment
FAIN: ZA-250657-16
Florida International University Board of Trustees (Miami, FL 33199-2516)
Kenneth J. Lipartito (Project Director: February 2016 to present)
Planning by the FIU History
Department around four topics: 1) the reorientation of curriculum toward
learning core competencies; 2) the advisability of mandating internship
experience or allowing a non-traditional dissertation; 3) best practices
relating to alternative skill development; and 4) student mentorship needs.
The History
Department at Florida International University (FIU), one of the nation’s
largest minority serving institutions, proposes a yearlong planning program
aimed at assisting history PhD students in navigating the “employment
roundabout” of the nonacademic job market. Building on our previous success in
placing students beyond the academy, our program has three aims: first, to
gather information so that faculty and students are well informed of
nonacademic opportunities and learn the appropriate skills and training needed
to compete for those opportunities; second, to build a coalition of university
administrators, faculty, and students, as well as community, government,
private sector, and NGO partners who will serve as advisors, consultants, and mentors;
and third, to produce a strategic plan for revamping the department’s culture
and PhD program with an eye towards building links between academic training
and nonacademic professional opportunities.