Planning for an Academic Job Search
Graduate students preparing to enter the academic job market will find there are common documents requested in job market dossiers. The Drake Institute offers periodic workshops with guidance for developing teaching statements and teaching portfolios. (See Events) The resources below offer more detailed information about three common documents requested in job market applications: teaching statements and portfolios; diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) statements; and research portfolios.
Developing a Teaching Statement and Portfolio
The Drake Institute has created a teaching portfolio guide and a framework for structuring a philosophy of teaching statement with practical and self-reflective guidance for faculty and graduate students. Graduate students are also encouraged to schedule individual consultations with the institute to review these documents in more detail.
Developing a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice Statement
Diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) statements are increasingly requested in job market dossiers. These statements may take different forms, from comprising a separate document to including elements of DEIJ in a teaching statement and/or cover letter. The resources below offer strategies for articulating a commitment to DEIJ:
- Vanderbilt University: Developing and Writing a Diversity Statement
- University of Texas at Austin: Drafting a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
- University of California, San Diego: Contributions to Diversity Statements
Developing a Research Portfolio
Research portfolios are common elements in job market dossiers, especially at doctoral research institutions. The resources below offer guidance around structuring these statements:
- University of California, San Francisco: “Developing a Winning Research Statement”
- Carleton University: “Developing your Research Statement”
- Cornell University Graduate School: “Writing your Research Statement”
- Stanford University: “One Strategy for Writing a Research Statement”
- Academic Coaching and Writing: “Writing the Research Statement: How and Why you Research What You Do”
Preparing Future Faculty Program
The Preparing Future Faculty program (PFF), offered by the Graduate School, gives graduate students at Ohio State the opportunity to experience first-hand the unique challenges and rewards of an academic career at a smaller college or university. A signature feature of the PFF Program is an arranged mentorship with a faculty member at one of Ohio’s leading liberal arts colleges or state universities.
Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching
The College of Education and Human Ecology offers a graduate certificate in college and university teaching that gives graduate students the skills needed to teach at the higher education level. This opportunity allows graduate students to engage in a rigorous, structured education of theories and practice in university-level teaching – both in general and in their own specialization – and develop the skills needed to become a reflective and scholarly professor.
Career Advice and Counseling
Offered by the Office of Student LIfe, Career Counseling and Support Services provides various services to help students explore career options through individual or group career counseling.