Do You Need to Do a Postdoc to Get a Teaching Position at a Liberal Arts School in the Sciences
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2017 Oct; 9(10): a032789.
A Career at a Pocket-size Liberal Arts College
Abstract
A career as a tenure-track professor at a liberal arts college provides the opportunity to combine serious interests in didactics with research. The basic goals of the liberal arts institution are to brainwash the student broadly while encouraging mastery of a particular area of interest. Preparing for such a career requires not only a delivery to educational activity merely as well a productive PhD and postdoctoral experience, regardless of the expectations for active enquiry within the chore. The application and interview processes crave one to exist informed, flexible, energetic, and clear—in writing and in speaking. Establishing an invigorating instruction and inquiry program will let you to balance realism and ambition equally you find a mode to bring the best science to the undergraduate setting. The exposure to students whose thinking is frequently more unfettered and creative, and to colleagues whose scholarships span many disciplines, makes a position at a liberal arts college one of the most intellectually stimulating careers available to a scientist.
Many young scientists take a keen interest in pursuing a career at institutions that focus on the education of undergraduates. These are referred to formally as baccalaureate institutions (every bit distinguished from research universities), and the most common institution in this category is the liberal arts college.
Largely an American invention, the liberal arts higher offers a broad education to students usually betwixt the ages of 18 and 22. Hundreds of institutions that focus on undergraduates are establish inside the United states; however, several countries outside of the United states of america (Uk, The netherlands, Canada, Japan, etc.) have adopted variants of this model and more are probable to do so. Some U.S. liberal arts institutions are private (east.g., Allegheny College, Pomona Higher, Reed College), some are public (e.yard., The College of New Bailiwick of jersey), some have current connections to religious organizations (Earlham College and the Quakers, St. Olaf'due south and the Lutheran Church building), some take historical connections (Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr Higher were founded past Quakers), and many are secular (Amherst College). Nigh are coeducational, only some enroll merely women (e.yard., Smith, Barnard). Most have fewer than 3000 students, although some are considerably smaller than others (Pitzer College has just more than 1000 students; Wellesley has more than 3000).
In their ideal, liberal arts colleges educate the "whole student," exposing young adults to a breadth of educational opportunities that develop their intellects and prepare them to get thinking, working, governing citizens. This emphasis on breadth is accompanied by requirements for a depth of mastery and scholarship in a major discipline of choice. Although the general, overall mission of most liberal arts colleges is similar, their approaches, philosophies, and emphases vary. This is especially truthful in the sciences, where the emphasis on and resource for original research differ widely. At one cease of the spectrum are colleges that are active undergraduate research institutions, where kinesthesia and students both are expected to continually engage in original scholarly efforts. At the other cease, are liberal arts colleges where active research is not a role of job expectations and may not be possible with the available resources. About fall between these extremes and each higher prides itself on an individual philosophy that is reflected in their curricular offerings and hiring preferences.
Regardless of these distinctions, and regardless of the emphasis placed on active enquiry productivity among faculty, applicants with stiff research backgrounds and agile publication records accept a real advantage. A clear commitment to educational activity at the undergraduate level is critically important, of course, although the specific type of instruction experience a college will exist looking for differs considerably from none to an expectation of formal in-classroom experience. Those who are nearly successful and happy in a career at whatsoever of the liberal arts institutions are those who derive energy from students and classroom engagement, besides every bit those who discover ways to stay active in their fields, in whatever capacity they can.
JOBS
Jobs within a liberal arts college fall within a typical academic structure and are broadly divided into tenure-rail and nontenure-track positions (see Fig. ane). Tenure was originally developed to protect a faculty member'due south position and autonomy from the whims of institutional donors and other decision-making members of an academic community. It is more than narrowly perceived as a guarantee of employment for life, although it does non protect individuals for all transgressions. Ofttimes critiqued, it can inhibit an institution's ability to respond to professors who are underperforming. However, arguments for its role in protecting academic liberty take trumped many attempts to dislodge it from academic traditions and tenure is likely here to stay for the considerable future.
Schematic of academic positions.
Tenure Track
The positions along the tenure track provide the nigh autonomy, the greatest admission to institutional resources, and potential job security. They progress from banana professorships, to associate professorships, to full professorships. The teaching and research performance of all professors is thoroughly reviewed at defined intervals. A reappointment review ofttimes occurs in the third year. A review for promotion to associate professor, which is often accompanied past the granting of tenure, occurs in the fifth to the seventh years, and a review for promotion to total professorship oft occurs in the 10th twelvemonth (and across). A negative review at reappointment or at tenure review will mean a loss of a job (afterward a grace menstruation). A negative view after tenure tin can have an effect on bacon and access to resources (eastward.thousand., laboratory space).
Nontenure Rail
Although they are non as secure and practise not always come with the same privileges, nontenure-track positions tin can too exist rewarding. They tin be temporary or permanent, part fourth dimension or full time, and ofttimes vary with the history and needs of a particular department and institution. Visiting professorships are positions that make full breather or motherhood leave openings. They are temporary and can terminal as long as 3 years or more, or as short as a semester, depending on the needs of a department. Lecturer or instructor positions may also exist temporary and typically have no expectation of or opportunity for research activities. Both of these types of positions offer opportunities for a young scientist to try on a liberal arts college job "for size."
Some nontenure teaching positions are also long term and virtually indistinguishable from a tenure-track position. These positions are often the products of historical anomaly rather than intentional hiring practices and are less dependable as job options. Each higher uses its ain terminology for these positions (eastward.yard., "continuing appointment," "regular kinesthesia") and you lot will accept to verify the pregnant of these by doing some enquiry and asking questions.
Assistants
Finally, faculty members can besides assume more administrative positions, peculiarly in the afterward stages of their careers. Section chairs are unremarkably tenured or full professors. Depending on the institution, these tin can either be long-term or rotating positions. Department concerns are shared by all faculty, but chairs coordinate the efforts and can take a fundamental role in shaping the direction and ambitions of a department, and in some institutions play an important function in hiring decisions. Nigh faculties are also headed past a dean or provost, many of whom started their careers equally professors who developed interests (and skills) in administration through their service. These are either selected from the internal faculty ranks or hired from some other establishment. They oversee faculty hiring, evolution, and academic programs. Presidents of colleges may besides have held an academic position at another college or university, and typically have had previous substantive administrative experience (e.one thousand., as a successful provost). They govern all programming and personnel—faculty, staff, and students—and are commonly hired by and written report to the institutional board of managers.
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Perchance the most frequent question asked by graduate students interested in a career at an undergraduate institution is, "Practise I need a postdoc for a job in a liberal arts college?" If you are looking for a tenure-track professorial task, a PhD is absolutely required and postdoctoral experience is highly desirable. Where an active research program is an expectation, a postdoc (of two years or more) is a necessity. Even places where research programs are not as intense, and a postdoc not absolutely required, a potent, active research and publication record will requite y'all a competitive edge as a candidate.
There are several ways to infer a higher's expectations of enquiry activity. The establishment's own website and that of the relevant scientific discipline departments reveals much about their educational and research philosophy. The curriculum vitae of its current kinesthesia, which are often available on the website, provide y'all with an excellent sense of research activeness. Wait at publication and funding records before and later the arrival of a faculty member to proceeds a sense of expectations.
College rankings serve as another indicator of research emphasis. These rankings are controversial within the academic world and should exist viewed with the kind of scholarly skepticism that you have acquired during your training. U.S. News and World Report, perhaps the nearly influential rating agency, bases its rankings on multiple variables, including faculty and student resources, graduation rates, as well equally the more intangible and arguably less reliable "reputation." The top ranked liberal arts colleges on these lists tend to emphasize active research in their programs; all the same, the correlation is not accented. Other journals rank institutions differently and can offer boosted insights. The Washington Monthly ranks institutions on the basis of their "contribution to the public good" and Forbes ranks institutions on their assessments of the overall value of the education received (including career prospects and debt incurred). Finally, the perspectives of current students, alumni, and colleagues will round out your understanding of establishment expectations.
"What kind of teaching feel do I demand to be competitive for a job in a liberal arts college?" is another often asked question. The answer likewise depends on the specific establishment likewise equally the collection of your own experiences and your ability to communicate these. A successful application must clearly convey a genuine and thoughtful delivery to educational activity and mentoring undergraduates. It should also provide evidence for didactics potential, which can accept many forms, ranging from experience as a teaching assistant in a class as a graduate student, to teaching a class or two in any undergraduate setting, to actually holding a position as a visiting professor at a liberal arts higher. Practise not underestimate the importance of your teaching statement, which is typically requested as function of your application. In this, you tin can thoughtfully depict your unique collection of experiences and aspirations as an educator.
Although many successful applicants to liberal arts colleges have never taught a full grade or received formal student evaluations, few successful applicants have arrived with no feel with undergraduate enquiry. How do y'all proceeds this? Opportunities to teach in a small college setting ascend informally, via contacts that you or your supervisor have with college professors, or formally when colleges annunciate (typically in the spring) for leave replacements. These visiting professorships provide rewarding and valuable experiences and can enhance your application considerably. However, information technology is important to recognize that they are designed to be temporary—non as a stepping-stone to a tenure-track position at that establishment. If they remove y'all too long from inquiry momentum, they actually tin put you lot at a competitive disadvantage with other job candidates who are actively publishing at the time of the application. Avoid extending your visit beyond one or two years. Your expectations of and attachment to the institution tin easily abound across what the position can offer.
Some colleges offering formal instruction fellowships specifically designed for postdocs interested in a career with undergraduates. These fellowships are sponsored by the National Institutes of Wellness (NIH), Howard Hughes Medical Found (HHMI), and other private organizations (http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/careers/career-planning-resource/186-postdoctoral-didactics-fellowships). The motivation behind their development is impeccable and the experiences tin can likewise be rewarding and valuable. However, like caveats use. Some pedagogy fellowships interrupt experimental momentum in ways that are difficult to restore, putting y'all at a disadvantage with other candidates. The best programs are those that support a mentored teaching experience without requiring yous to stride away from your postdoctoral research training for also long.
"Should I develop a research programme in a field that is more easily adjusted to an undergraduate setting?" is an insightful question with a relatively unproblematic answer. Although you should certainly be realistic about the resources that are required for enquiry at an institution that does not take the same core facilities as a university, it is likewise critically important that y'all avert shaping your scientific aspirations on the footing of predictable limitations. Undergraduates can do more than than some suspect and appetite is rewarded in the classroom, the laboratory, and if articulated well, among funding agencies. As nosotros will describe below, substantive funding opportunities are, indeed, available to professors at undergraduate institutions. Institutions committed to faculty and pupil scholarship volition likewise provide internal funding sources.
GETTING A Human foot IN THE DOOR
The about of import mode to get a "human foot in the door" is to use for the task. Where are jobs at undergraduate institutions advertised? About institutions will annunciate in several places. The Science online Science Careers site is one of the best places to look (http://scjobs.sciencemag.org/JobSeekerX/SearchJobsForm.asp). Liberal arts college positions are besides listed in the Chronicles of Higher Instruction (https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new) and can be announced in online and paper publications associated with specific scientific societies. Several other online sites that assemble opportunities in college education are also condign more and more helpful. These include, simply are not limited to, Higher Ed Jobs (https://www .higheredjobs.com/), Inside Higher Ed (https://careers.insidehighered.com/), and Higher Ed Recruitment Consortium (HERC; https://www .hercjobs.org/). Many institutions want to heighten the diversity of their faculty and will list their jobs on sites that are directed specifically to individuals from underrepresented groups (e.thou., http://world wide web.minoritypostdoc.org/view/resource.html). Finally, word of mouth is powerful: Permit colleagues and supervisors know about your interest in this career bending.
What should be included in an application? The requirements are listed in the advertisement and typically include a asking for a curriculum vitae, three exterior letters of recommendation, likewise every bit both education and inquiry statements. It is ideal to become your application in no subsequently than the date specified and to gently but firmly make sure that your outside reviewers also get their letters in on fourth dimension. Applications that practice not include all components may not exist reviewed.
Who reviews the applications? The composition of search committees varies from institution to establishment. Some are composed predominantly of department members, some include faculty members who are in allied departments in the sciences, and some include faculty outside the science divisions. Many committees at liberal arts colleges include undergraduates too. Each fellow member, regardless of background, has a very of import say in the fit of a candidate for a section and a college.
What are they looking for? Over again, this depends on the philosophy of the institution, as well every bit the department; it helps to proceeds a sense of this before yous apply. Regardless, energy, clarity, engagement, and genuine, informed interest are all features of successful candidates. Your teaching and research statements should be thoughtfully prepared and clearly articulated (share them with colleagues before sending them). The best inquiry statements outline several possible projects that will be the footing for an independent scientific career. They also describe how undergraduates could participate in this development and contribute in original ways. They include recognition of the resource required, too as an interest in developing the funding or support needed to garner those resources and reply the questions that involvement you. The best education statements draw a candidate'south experiences likewise equally their didactics philosophy. They include clear ideas for courses and approaches you lot are interested in developing (and why).
Applicants ofttimes ask how closely they demand to fit the description of an advertisement. If, for case, you are a biochemist, and the ad describes a position in cellular biology, will your awarding be considered? The more than specific an ad is, the more unlikely information technology is that an bidder outside the field will be considered. However, if you are in an centrolineal field and can clearly describe your connection to the field(southward) described—and if your application is strong—you lot should certainly transport the application in. Successful candidates practice not always fulfill every descriptive requirement and a very strong application volition be noted.
If you are short-listed by the committee, you will be asked for an interview. Some institutions may whittle a shortlist down fifty-fifty further via phone interviews. These can be anxiety provoking because you and your interviewers cannot see or "read" each other; nevertheless, it is better to view them as liberating. Have reward of the opportunity to take the phone call in whatsoever environment that you observe especially relaxing. The committee volition ultimately offer on-site interviews to two to 5 candidates, who will usually be asked to prepare a research seminar and a teaching syllabus, or even a form. These candidates will meet with all members of the search committee and department, as well as students.
Set your presentations with an awareness of your audience. Will you exist speaking to first year students? Majors? A diversity? Faculty in the section? Faculty in other departments? Provost? President? If you lot are asked to give a seminar endeavour to develop one that engages students and faculty who are not experts in your field, but likewise progresses to a level that would be appreciated by an practiced. (This is a tall order, only a rewarding one. Practice!) The question/respond session afterwards the lecture is more than revealing than the lecture itself—this is where someone who knows their work and enjoys communicating science to students and faculty will shine, and be revealed to members of the committee.
If you lot are asked to give a class, develop a short outline, a set of slides, and/or a handout for the students. Do not pack your lecture with too many details or too many slides—give students fourth dimension to digest a fact and put them into context. Do not be afraid to utilise a chalkboard or a white board—students often prefer this every bit an alternative to the rapidity of PowerPoint slides. Endeavour to remember that "less is (almost) always more than" and perfection is overrated.
What questions should you be prepared for? You lot are likely to be asked how you would design your research program with undergraduates, how you would contribute to and develop a particular grade, and how you lot might be interested in contributing to other college-wide efforts. You may also be asked how you would help struggling students in a classroom, or how your undergraduate feel might inform your arroyo, where you think your field is going over the next decade, and what might exist the greatest challenges you might face in the position. Do not be afraid to say you "don't know"—praise the question if it inspires you to think of something new and offering a cursory, speculative respond. If students are involved, speak to them direct, as colleagues. Show an interest in the questioner and their experiences.
What questions should you ask? Speculative scientific questions that generate discussion are wonderful. But specific questions well-nigh the position that show that y'all are informed, thoughtful, and serious nigh the job are too welcome. How do professors balance teaching and research opportunities and expectations? How are professors mentored? Are faculty offered leaves? Course releases? How are they distributed? If the college has a robust inquiry program, do students go credit for research in the laboratories? Do faculty become teaching credit for mentoring students in the laboratory? How are students attracted to the laboratories? What internal research resources are at that place? What external funds accept been or can exist attracted? Nigh importantly, questions should be asked out of 18-carat interest, not anxiety or strategy.
To a higher place all, if you tin can, enjoy the process. Follow upwards with thank-y'all and so relax. If you do not get the offer, exercise not have information technology personally. Those who are offered an interview are not just evaluated for their own prowess but for their academic "fit" in the department—a feature that you cannot always control. Your particular scientific bent or other research emphases may overlap too much with a potential colleague, for instance. Another candidate could unexpectedly synergize or fill up gaps in highly-seasoned and unanticipated ways. It is impossible to anticipate all. Feel gratuitous to call the head of the search committee for feedback, and recognize that being short-listed is a 18-carat accomplishment.
If yous are offered the job, congratulations! You may want to make a return visit with a meaning other to determine if you desire to take the offer. And you will as well have an of import opportunity to negotiate for start-upward funds and other resources prior to accepting the job—1 of the only intervals in an academic career when yous truly have the "upper hand." Although you should exist gracious and respectful of an institution's limitations, do not be afraid to ask for what you really need. Develop lists of equipment that will really assist you develop the best program for yous, your colleagues, and your students. If inquiry productivity is an important role of the job, funds to support a research technician for a year and a reduced teaching schedule in your get-go or second semester can help you hit the ground running.
Virtually institutions will give yous two weeks or so to make a conclusion; try to respect this time limit.
However, if you are genuinely serious about the chore and have real reasons to delay, ask for an extension. Do compare offers, but practice not simply use an offer that y'all are not serious near to raise another package. Small colleges are part of a small world.
CAREER PROGRESSION
The application procedure is the first of many evaluations that will span your career as a liberal arts college professor. Typically, you are given a 3-yr contract as an assistant professor; 2 to three years subsequently, yous are reviewed for reappointment, a process that determines if your contract is extended for future consideration for tenure. The reappointment process is often used as an opportunity for both you and the institution to heighten or right your trajectory. If reappointed, you volition be assessed for promotion to acquaintance professor (which often is accompanied past tenure) erstwhile between your fifth and seventh yr. At least three and oft more years after this promotion, you will be assessed for promotion to total professor.
Typically, three types of efforts are assessed during each of these evaluations: inquiry progress, productivity, and quality; didactics quality and innovation; and service. Instruction and research are arguably the most of import elements of all evaluations, just service (or "citizenship"—contributions on committees, on outreach efforts, etc.) should not be dismissed.
Teaching
No matter how gifted a teacher one may be or have the potential to be, the learning curve in the classroom is very steep; the first ii years will be the nigh exhausting (and exhilarating) as you develop the textile you desire to teach equally well as your classroom delivery. Students are forgiving of occasional lapses in clarity if you are enthusiastic and responsive to their concerns, and bring a sense of cocky and sense of humor to the classroom. Getting students involved in the learning process is important—and much more easily said than washed. "Clicker" technology is attractive to some, but technology is less of import than on-the-spot date. Interrupting a lecture with a question that you allow students to discuss briefly, request them to scribble a model or write down an respond to a problem can also involve and invigorate students, fifty-fifty in a big classroom.
Brand time for your students. Y'all will be given much advice about setting boundaries. Indeed, protecting your fourth dimension and striking balances are important. However, the quality of your teaching and your students' education—and arguably your enjoyment of the job—is enhanced by a willingness to engage questions and concerns, sometimes even outside of standard office hours.
Accept your students' input seriously—they can oft see things more clearly than yous and can be more direct in their concerns. Attempt to avoid feeling defensive and attempt not to internalize negative comments—dismiss them quickly if they are outliers, merely respond to them in the next setting if they resonate with your and others' honest assessments. Enjoy the positive ones, ever.
Research
It should be clear by now that research expectations equally a liberal arts professor vary widely. Some desire you to exist funded and actively publishing, although at a lower rate than at research universities. Some exercise not require active bench inquiry at all. If active inquiry is a requirement, how tin y'all sustain a plan without the resources offered past a university? Sheer will is an important offset requirement, but other resources facilitate the try.
Funding
Multiple agencies provide funding specific for faculty from pocket-size colleges. National Science Foundation (NSF) offers a Research at Undergraduate Institution (RUI) grant, which is evaluated for quality in the same pool as all other grants, but takes into account differences in resources, publication stride, as well as the educational bonus. The NIH R21 award is another granting opportunity specific for pocket-sized college laboratories. Both NSF and NIH offering opportunities to fund equipment purchases and welcome proposals from groups of professors. Some scientific societies and private organizations can supplement your students' research goals with smaller awards. Finally, internal funds at some institutions tin be a big help, especially early in your career. If your first grant does non succeed, speak to your plan manager, share your work with colleagues, and try again. Critique often enhances quality.
Institutional Support
Institutional commitment to resource that support research is also invaluable; it is hard to work in an surround where your ambitions are the exception, even if you have funding. Ideally, institutions serious about enquiry demand to offer start-up funds; some existing facilities and the means to keep them up; matching costs for equipment requested in grants; personnel to help with grant training, submission, and musical instrument maintenance; funds for work-study and summer students; and a genuine expectation that all faculty maintain an active research program. In reality, some institutions are in a position to offer more than others. Still, even less-well-off institutions can support and inspire first-class research. Your own efforts are an important function of maintaining research quality, civilization, and resources.
Connexion to Your Profession
At a small college you are ofttimes more isolated from your immediate scientific colleagues, and it is important to maintain contact with your profession. Attend meetings at least once a year, serve on review panels, and give seminars at other institutions. Develop collaborations with colleagues at other universities. And bring your students to your meetings—enquire them to nowadays their work. This provides all of yous with a unique exposure—and contributes to your balancing human action past combining professional and educational ambitions.
Service
Throughout your career, you lot will be asked to assume section-wide and college-wide responsibilities in addition to your teaching and enquiry efforts. Young professors are typically protected from too much service, which is often performed in committees. Notwithstanding, some committee work is worthwhile, exposing yous to colleagues, experiences, and resources that enhance your evolution every bit a instructor and scholar. Some also inspire interests and opportunities that shape or alter your career goals. Be a proficient citizen when you need to exist, be selective when you lot can be, and exercise not be afraid to cover opportunities that excite you.
Who will evaluate your performance in these three categories? At each interval, an elected or selected committee of respected colleagues and administrative representatives (due east.g., the dean or provost) will review an assembled portfolio of your accomplishments, as well as internal and external assessments of these accomplishments and make a recommendation to the president, who has the final give-and-take. Students, departmental colleagues, other faculty, and outside scholars will all be asked for perspectives. The weight given to each input varies with the establishment and with the promotion nether consideration. Tenure reviews are the most enervating, but in some institutions, reappointment and full professor promotions are as intensive. Familiarize yourself with the requirements and procedures associated with promotion at your institution, just do not overly strategize or politicize the process. Loftier internal standards are often an excellent guide to success.
Balancing Work and Family
Careers at small colleges are considered by many to be "family friendly." It is true that a minor institution can provide a community that is both receptive to and nurturing of the "whole faculty member" and their families, and it is as well true that the autonomy of the job can provide y'all the liberty to exist flexible with schedules. Notwithstanding, information technology is important to understand that being a kinesthesia member at a small higher is a 24/vii job that you cannot easily leave "at work." Your grading, your course evolution, your mentoring, your research, and your guilt for non reading enough literature will oft invade your family unit life—and vice versa. Nonetheless, with energy and wisdom, attending to boundaries and flexibility, information technology can be done and you are likely to discover real rewards in the occasional synergy inspired past raising children and mentoring students. Remember that there is never one "right" time to grow a family; the choice is an important i and a personal one.
Fashion OUT
Those who bring together the kinesthesia of a small liberal arts higher and receive tenure often stay in the position for a long fourth dimension. However, some exercise pursue other opportunities. Most frequently, senior faculty who have developed authoritative skills are attracted to provost or dean positions. Science faculty also assume leadership positions in government and individual funding agencies. Some scientists who have maintained a productive professional profile are wooed by other academic institutions—other pocket-sized colleges, research universities, or pharmaceutical companies. Regardless, the options one has depend on the record you have developed. They narrow considerably if your productivity and/or profile wane, particularly after tenure.
Footnotes
Editors: Kaaren Janssen and Richard Sever
Additional Perspectives on Career Options for Biomedical Scientists available at www.cshperspectives.org
Articles from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biological science are provided hither courtesy of Cold Bound Harbor Laboratory Press
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5629999/
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