Office of Graduate Professional Development
In Spring 2025, the Graduate School, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Center for Teaching Excellence will offer a Preparing Future Faculty program for graduate students and postdocs.
The Preparing Future Faculty program is open to graduate students and postdocs from all departments at the University of Florida. The goal of the program is to help prepare participants for academic careers in a variety of settings. The focus is on learning about faculty life at different types of institutions, honing evidence-based teaching skills, and expanding your mentoring network. This program will not address preparing job applications or interview materials for faculty positions. If you are interested in the job search process, a self-paced course is available through Beyond the Professoriate.
In Spring 2025, the program will be offered virtually. We will meet on Thursdays, 9am–11am, from January 16th to Apil 17th. Deadline to apply is November 17th at 11:59pm.
Participants will be selected on a competitive basis. Submission of an application does not guarantee acceptance into the program. If accepted, candidates will need to request approval from their advisor to participate in the program. Accepted participants will be notified in early December.
APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING 2025 ARE NOW CLOSED
Complete and submit your application here.
Questions? Please email grad-success@ufl.edu
As a result of participating in this program, participants will be able to:
| Course Component | Week | Weekly Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 01/16/2025 |
Introductions Interaction and Motivation |
|
| Teaching | 01/23/2025 |
Introduction to Portfolios, Teaching and Research Statements |
| 01/30/2025 |
Quality Learning Environment |
|
| 02/06/2025 |
Tenure and Promotion |
|
| 02/13/2025 | Active Learning | |
| 02/20/2025 | Effective Feedback | |
| 02/27/2025 | Useful Assessments | |
| 03/06/2025 |
Transparency, Accessibility, and Online (TAO) |
|
| Faculty Life | 03/13/2025 | Panel Discussion: Faculty Life at Research Intensive Institutions |
| 03/20/2025 | NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK | |
| 03/27/2025 | Panel Discussion: Faculty Life at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions | |
| 04/03/2025 | Panel Discussion: Interviewing and Hiring | |
| 04/10/2025 | Peer Review Session: Teaching/Research Statements | |
| 04/17/2025 | Closing Session |
*schedule may change
Attendance Requirement
Participants must attend each weekly meeting. Participants who have not missed more than three sessions may request a certificate of completion at the end of the program.
Mentoring Requirement
Participants must identify a faculty mentor (someone other than immediate advisor) for this program. Participants will be required to meet with their mentors twice monthly for the duration of the program. The program will provide participants and mentors with a list of topics to be discussed (if desired), along with activities that could enhance the quality of the interactions and the outcome of the experience.
The Preparing Future Faculty program is open to graduate students and postdocs from any department at UF. Participants will be selected on a competitive basis.
Application components:
1. Statement of interest in the program (250 words). This statement will allow program staff to see if what you expect to gain from the program corresponds to the learning objectives. This program is not designed with the focus to help with writing the documents for your job application package. Rather, it is a designed for you to understand faculty life in a variety of settings, and to gain valuable teaching skills.
2. Summary of teaching accomplishments (250 words)
3. Summary of research/scholarship accomplishments (250 words)
4. Summary of service/outreach activities (250 words)
5. Current CV