Typically, a PhD prepares you to join the professoriate, and the academic job search tends to follow a year-long cycle: positions are posted in the Fall; first round interviews begin late Fall or early Spring; campus interviews soon after; and offers made mid-Spring or soon after. If you are interested in joining the professoriate, plan ahead. Some disciplines require postdoctoral training before joining the tenure track. Are you aware of the variety of academic institutions you could work at? Talk to faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and peers within your discipline to learn about your options, what a typical day looks like at different institutions and try to gauge what environment you would be happiest in. While we will defer to faculty and departmental/disciplinary experts, we encourage you to make a PhD Student Career Planning appointment to get your tenure track application documents reviewed.

These are the documents you are likely to need:

• CV
• Cover letter
• Teaching philosophy/statement
  
  • Some institutions may ask for sample syllabi
• Research statement
• Diversity statement