Careers Beyond the Academy

FAIN: ZA-250692-16

University of Kentucky Research Foundation (Lexington, KY 40506-0004)
Sarah Lyon (Project Director: February 2016 to November 2017)

Planning at the University of Kentucky (UK) around six topics: 1) integrating multiple career outcomes from the very beginning of students’ experience in graduate school; 2) revisions to curriculum and degree requirements in order to better prepare students for a diverse array of future occupations; 3) maximizing faculty buy-in for a transformed PhD and methods for supporting students beyond teaching-focused funding; 4) initiating partnerships with non-academic institutions, and 5) developing an evaluation plan for future activities and implementation.

The goal of this program is to enable graduate students in the humanities to explore the possibility of non-academic and alt-academic jobs. A program of this sort at once fulfills our moral obligation to help graduate students advance in their lives and careers and makes UK’s College of Arts and Sciences a more attractive place for prospective students to pursue a graduate degree. Program development and planning will be overseen by a program director and a diverse committee that includes faculty, administrators, alumni, local businesspeople, and current graduate students. Over the course of the 2016-2017 academic year the committee will systematically consider six topics and develop program initiatives and longer-term strategies to transform the humanities PhD.