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As the topic for 2003 suggests, the goal
of this colloquium is to give doctoral students a roadmap for their
career. During the first two hours of the colloquium participants will
work in small groups to identify and make suggestions for the resolution
of key issues at various stages of a career that involves a doctorate.
We hope to cover the complete lifecycle, starting from choosing classes
in your first year to receiving tenure at a university or achieving a
prominent position in industry.
The colloquium will consist of the
following four focus groups, each representing one stage in a career.
Early Doctoral Student: Covers topics such
as finding and advisor/mentor, passing the general exam and developing
avoiding alienation, all of which have been known to occur prior to the
dissertation proposal.
Towards Graduation: Covers topics such as
a roadmap for graduation, managing your committee, choosing the right
conferences, writing for the appropriate journals and identifying the
right group of future peers.
The Academic Career: Covers issues such
as the academic job market, networking with the right people in your
field, defining your field of research and the tenure process (or the
international equivalent).
The non-Academic Career: Covers the
industrial job market and potential careers in government. Key issues
may be the value of a Ph.D. in industry or government. Monetary
rewards, social status, individual gratification and other motivating
factors could be discussed in this focus group.
The focus groups will discuss issues
related to a particular stage of a career during the first two hours of
the colloquium. In the second two hours the colloquium each focus group
will present its recommendations and act as a panel for a general
discussion with the other participants. We hope to document the
recommendations of each focus group and key points of the discussion. We
intend to send the results of this documentation to the participants.
Ideally, each focus group should consist
of some participants who are in the particular stage of the career that
the focus represents and others who have just completed it. Both junior
faculty and recent graduates of doctoral programs who work in industry
are also encouraged to join the colloquium, because a Ph.D. can have a
major impact on a career in both industry and academia. The
perspective of students and graduates from outside the United States is
especially welcome, because it may teach the participants how to
approach an international career. |
