Stories from the Field: Events and Collaborations

In partnership with campuses across the UC system, UCHRI is co-hosting Stories from the Field conversations with faculty, graduate students, staff, and UC alumni. These events take Stories as a point of departure to deepen and extend conversations on the structural conditions of graduate education, departmental + institutional culture change, and career prospects for humanities PhDs—all issues Humanists@Work has confronted without hesitation. The events around Stories mark a culmination of this work (which began in 2015), and help us prepare to launch a new iteration of HumWork, focused on humanities alumni at work in the world. Find details of individual events below, and keep an eye on our website for details for Alumni@Work, and other initiatives to be announced soon.

PhD+ Stories from the Field

Organized by The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz for its PhD+ workshop, co-sponsored by the Literature Department, as part of UCSC’s Alumni Week

Friday, April 22 | 11:00am to 12:30pm | Online

Register here.

While humanities doctoral programs tend to focus on training students for tenure track faculty positions, many PhDs pursue jobs outside of a university setting. According to the UC Humanities Research Institute’s recent report, Stories from the Field, more than a quarter of UC humanities doctoral alumni reported that they did not seek a tenure track faculty position when they started their PhD programs, and this percentage increased during the isolation of the dissertation writing process and the challenges of the academic job market. UC humanities PhDs go into a wide range of careers – from positions in the non-profit sector to marketing and communications work and jobs in the tech industry. Stories from the Field considers the economic and professional outcomes of humanities PhDs, to better track where humanists end up, how they apply their expertise, and the ways they are contributing to society. Examining faculty positions alongside other careers, the report promotes a broader definition of what success looks like for humanities PhDs.

Join us for a conversation with Kelly Anne Brown, Associate Director of UCHRI, and UC Santa Cruz Literature alumni to discuss findings from Stories from the Field and the diverse range of careers that humanities PhDs pursue. Many PhD alumni are eager to keep in touch with graduate program networks as well as support current students and this event provides an opportunity to further those connections. The workshop is being held during Alumni Week to encourage faculty, graduate students, and alumni to all engage in this important discussion and reflection about graduate humanities training at UC Santa Cruz and opportunities beyond.

Stories from the Field: Conditions and Futures for UC Humanities PhDs

Co-sponsored the UC Riverside Graduate Division, and the Center for Ideas and Society

Stories from the Field: Conditions and Futures for UC Humanities PhDs from Center for Ideas & Society on Vimeo.

Mar 10, 2022 / 1:00–2:30 pm

What can CHASS departments do to improve the experiences and professional prospects of graduate students? Join us for a discussion on Stories from the Field, a data booklet that charts the economic outcomes and career trajectories for UC humanities PhDs against those of their peers in other disciplines. The presentation will provide an overview of the project, including key takeaways of the report that can inform and reshape how departments and university administrations approach graduate education in the humanities.

Presentation: Kelly Anne Brown, Associate Director, UCHRI

Q&A and roundtable conversation with: CHASS faculty, including Sherryl Vint, Cathy Gudis, Adrián Félix and Aleca Le Blanc.

Click here for event details, and registration links.