The Academic Job Search

The Non-Academic Job Search and Jobs Outside of Academia

Funding and Grant-Writing

Teaching

Teaching Statements and Portfolios

Dissertation Writing

Diversity in the Classroom

Faculty Life

Finding Postdoctoral Fellowships

 

 

PROGRAMS:  Professional development topics are presented throughout the year via several means:

 

Faculty Panels: Faculty from Northwestern University as well as our Preparing Future Faculty partner schools (see the PFF section) are invited to participate on panels to address topics including faculty life, academic job search, the academic hiring process, and more.

 

Invited Speakers: Experts are invited to speak on topics of interest. Past speakers include James M. Lang, PhD (Preparing for Your First Teaching Job) and Susan Basalla, PhD (How to Find a JobOutside of Academia).

 

Alumni Panels and Networking Events: Graduates of Northwestern University graduate programs are invited to participate on panels on topics including the academic and non-academic job search, and to network with current graduate students.

 

NU Directions Annual Conference: The Graduate School hosts an annual, day-long conference that covers a variety of professional development topics. See the Events section for information about the next conference. Speakers are invited from offices across campus, including:

 

Town Hall with the Dean: A series of evening forums devoted to issues facing higher education in general and Northwestern students in particular, TGS Town Halls provide an opportunity to meet with the Dean in person and help define graduate school policy.

 

Departmental Professional Development Grants: The Graduate School at Northwestern University has established a Professional Development Grant to support meaningful graduate student professional development programming at the department level. This grant is intended to fund departmental and cluster efforts to offer graduate student professional development programming. This includes any activity that provides professional and life skill development relevant to the preparation of graduate students for their future career endeavors, whether inside or outside of academia.  Additional information about these grants may be found on the Information for Faculty and Staff area of our Web site.