Purpose of the PFF Seminar Program
The Preparing Future Faculty Seminar Program (PFF) helps doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars learn about faculty roles and job expectations and helps ensure that future faculty are prepared to meet the challenges of the current academic market.
Program topics include:
- Faculty roles and responsibilities
- Academic job search preparation
- Course design
- Mentoring skills
- Leadership and communication skills
Students can enroll in GRAD 9010 for 1 credit hour for either the fall OR spring semesters. The Fall seminar meets in-person 1x week. The Spring seminar is offered 100% online, with a few synchronous meetings (on-line or in person depending on the preferences of the students in the course).
Eligibility
University of Missouri graduate students (in last two years of doctoral program) and postdoctoral scholars from all disciplines are eligible to participate in the Preparing Future Faculty Seminar Program.
How to apply
Email Graduate School Associate Dean Enid Schatz (by August 1)
PFF Alumni and Alumnae Testimonials
I was one of those ones who was super worried about finding a position and a spousal hire. I learned so much about being on the job market and negotiating an offer. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! – Letter from a PFF participant who accepted a tenure track position as an assistant professor of science education at Trinity University, a small, private, liberal arts institution in San Antonio, TX.
History of the Preparing Future Faculty Seminar Program
Although most future faculty members are trained at research universities, 93% of all US institutions are not typically involved in doctoral education (e.g., community colleges, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive institutions).
To address the training of educators bound for non-research-intensive schools, the Council of Graduate Schools, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Pew Charitable Trust, and the National Science Foundation established the Preparing Future Faculty Program.
The Preparing Future Faculty Seminar initiative at the University of Missouri began in fall 2001 and is coordinated by the Graduate School. Our program aims to prepare future faculty for positions at a diversity of types of U.S. higher education institutions, including research-intensive and non-research-intensive colleges and universities.
Academic portfolio
PFF Seminar Program participants will develop a portfolio documenting their teaching, research, and outreach philosophies, activities, and effectiveness. This portfolio will help prepare students for the academic job market.
Elevator pitch and mock interviews
PFF participants develop their communication skills by practicing their scholarly elevator pitch and experiencing a mock interview with a faculty coach, designed to help prepare them for the faculty job market. Seminar materials and activities will provide strategies for effective communication and job interviewing.
Mentoring and leadership
PFF participants receive mentorship training to help prepare them for the mentoring and advising duties of a faculty member. Students will learn how to develop a mentoring philosophy and be exposed to leadership strategies and styles to help them not only assume mentoring roles but also leadership roles in an academic and professional setting.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Enid Schatz
schatzej@missouri.edu