A Course To Prepare Future Faculty in Chemistry: Perspectives from Former Participants

Abstract

In 2001, the ACS reported, “The Ph.D. in chemistry usually prepares individuals for careers in basic research. The degree does not typically prepare these highly skilled research professionals to be faculty members.†In 2004, a report of a workshop held at NSF noted that “the purpose of the postdoctoral experience should … prepare postdocs for professional careers that are not solely as faculty members at research-intensive universities.†For the past 10 years the UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry department has addressed these issues through a Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) course for Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars. To assess the long-term impact of the course, a questionnaire was sent to 91 people with whom we still had contact information and who had participated in the program between 1994 and 2002. From the 41% response rate, 86% (32) identified themselves as being in academic positions from the full range of types of higher education institutions. The survey revealed that all components of the seminar were helpful for the academic recruitment process and that some aspects continued to be useful for the respondents in their current faculty positions.

Career Aspirations and Perceived Level of Preparedness Among Marriage and Family Therapy Doctoral Students

“…Most students indicated feeling less prepared for writing grants, engaging in university governance/policy, reviewing scholarly articles, and conducting self‐directed research (see Table 2). These results are consistent with prior studies in other fields regarding the need to prepare future faculty members (Austin, 2003; Gerdeman, Russell, & Eikey, 2007; Golde & Dore, 2001; Koblinsky, Kuvalanka, and McClintock‐Comeaux, 2006).…”

Content and Process in a Teaching Workshop for Faculty and Doctoral Students

“…Many institutions implement the program using a courselike approach, having students participate in a single-or multiple-semester seminar. However, not all implementations offer a reflective workshop for new classroom teachers (Gerdeman et al, 2007), which we argue is a valuable component. Moreover, PFF has been criticized by faculty who perceive the program's overemphasis on teaching support, at the expense of research mentorship, which may compromise doctoral students' learning opportunities and the university's research standing (Jones, Davis, & Price, 2004).…”

“…PFF (n.d.) prepares doctoral students for faculty responsibilities, provides them with mentors, and joins various academic departments and types of higher learning institutions into small collaborative clusters. Several colleges and universities offer such a program to their students, and some provide empirical support as to its effectiveness (e.g., Gerdeman, Russell, & Eikey, 2007). Many institutions implement the program using a courselike approach, having students participate in a single-or multiple-semester seminar.…”

Professional Learning and Development of Postdoctoral Scholars: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…Postdocs wanted to learn about a number of career-related topics including career options, job searching, interviewing, advancement and promotion [50], negotiation and project management skills [2], as well as handling rejection, explaining science to nonscientists, and risk and uncertainty management [53]. Participants who attended professional development seminars identified a number of career benefits including exposure to academic job options, improved preparation of job searching, and exposure to knowledge valuable for the reality of faculty work [43]. Kuhn and Castano [48] examined self-assessment of skill development through a pre-post survey of postdocs who participated in a mentorship program.…”