NEH Awards UC Nearly $25K To Expand Reach Of Humanities PhDs

Not every PhD candidate wants to spend a lifetime in academia. Candidates for PhDs in the humanities (Classics, Creative Writing, English and Comparative Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, German, History, Philosophy, and Romance Languages and Literature at UC) develop a broad range of practical and transferable skills that are valued by a wide range of potential employers. But making connections with employers outside colleges and universities hasn’t been a doctoral priority for humanities experts — until now.

When the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) launched a new grant opportunity to support re-imagining — and restructuring — doctoral degrees in the humanities, Arts and Sciences Associate Dean for the humanities David Stradling, a history professor, assembled an interdisciplinary team and applied. UC was awarded an NEH Next Generation PhD grant awarded in August.

The NEH Next Generation PhD program has pledged $1.7 million to 28 institutions to plan and implement changes in graduate education that will broaden the career preparation of PhD students beyond careers in the academy. 

Looking toward a multi-disciplinary future for students is not only a priority in the college, Stradling said, it’s an important way to connect graduate students in humanities fields with experts outside of their own departments and to build relationships with potential employers.

“Employers want to hire people with flexible skills,” Stradling said. “Analytical thinkers, creative writers, articulate speakers — all of the things the study of the humanities gives to its students. Doctoral training strengthens students’ skills in these areas, even beyond what is offered in undergraduate training.”

Next Generation PhD grants mark the first time the NEH, the longtime public funder of the humanities, is tackling the issue of how PhD students who immerse themselves deeply in graduate humanities research and writing can prepare to apply their skills and experience beyond teaching and professor positions.

“Many of our graduates are interested in finding positions outside of higher education,” Stradling wrote in the application to support planning a new breed of doctoral program. “We see great potential for the creation of a shared, interdisciplinary curriculum that would better prepare students for a fuller range of professions.”

UC is well positioned to develop this kind of forward-thinking doctoral curriculum because of its location and its academic strengths, Stradling said. “Our university has thriving programs in business, medicine, engineering and pharmacy — all fields where our students might find positions upon graduation and from which they can learn.”

From nearby corporate giants to local creative firms to a vast array of community nonprofits, the region offers significant opportunities for graduate humanities students to find mentors, internships and employment. 

NEH Next Generation PhD grants required institutional matching and came in two varieties: three were awarded for implementation of new programs and 25 for institutional planning. UC’s grant is one of the latter, with matching funds pledged by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School. A planning committee, led by Stradling and including administrators, faculty, graduates and graduate students, will meet for the first time next month and present its findings and recommendations to college leaders in April 2017.