About the Institute

As part of the Connected Academics initiative, partner institutions meet annually with MLA to engage with outside experts and thought leaders, assess needs, test models, and develop concrete plans to effect tangible, systemic change in doctoral education. The first institute, hosted by UCHRI, took place on September 14-16, 2016 at the University of California, Irvine. The two-day institute included sessions developed and led by the three partners and a day dedicated to the collaborative development of a faculty/staff toolkit for supporting doctoral students.

UCHRI would like to acknowledge the hard work of our staff in organizing the first annual Connected Academics Summer Institute. In addition to UCHRI Connected Academics participants, the work of James McMillan, Suedine Nakano, Arielle Read, and Maritess Steffen was critical to this process.

About Connected Academics

Connected Academics: Preparing Doctoral Students of Language and Literature for a Variety of Careers supports initiatives aimed at demonstrating how doctoral education can develop students’ capacities to bring the expertise they acquire in advanced humanistic study to a wide range of fulfilling, secure, and well-compensated professional situations. Connected Academics helps prepare doctoral students—already well trained for postsecondary faculty positions—to use their humanistic training in a broader range of occupations than doctoral programs have, up to now, characteristically acknowledged and honored. As one of its key components, Connected Academics supports pilot programs at three partner institutions—Arizona State University, Georgetown University, and the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI)—that are implementing recommendations of the MLA Task Force on Doctoral Study to support career diversity for language and literature doctoral students and graduates.