Rackham-CRLT May Seminar on Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) General Information

Resource Title:
Rackham-CRLT May Seminar on Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) General Information
Related Links:
PFF 2021 Application
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Click here to apply for the 2025 Preparing Future Faculty Seminar (Applications will be available until 5 p.m. ET on Friday, February 21)


The Rackham School of Graduate Studies and the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching's (CRLT) "Preparing Future Faculty" seminar (PFF) is a nationally recognized program designed to help prepare doctoral candidates for the academic job search and success in their subsequent faculty positions. The 2025 seminar will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM starting May 6, 2025 through June 5, 2025. 

  • On Tuesdays, our sessions will be in-person to form a learning community and focus on peer feedback and discussions. In addition, our final session on June 5 (Thursday) will be an in-person session to celebrate and conclude the PFF program. All in-person sessions will take place in the Great Lakes Room (4th floor) in Palmer Commons on the central campus. 
  • On the other four Thursdays, we will meet virtually to explore topics on preparing for your future academic careers. 

Participants will have the opportunity to engage with a number of pedagogical topics including course design and equity-focused teaching. Participants will also explore different types of academic institutions and positions through faculty panels and a virtual campus visit to a nearby institution. Participants will have the opportunity to apply what they learn in the seminar as they develop and provide peer-feedback on a statement of teaching practice and a course syllabus they could use in the future. Participants will also have access to additional readings and resources throughout the program. The seminar is free of charge to accepted participants.

Seminar Objectives

  1. Design a syllabus for a specific course you could teach at U-M or another institution utilizing principles of backward design and elements of equity-focused teaching.
  2. Create a teaching statement that discusses your teaching practices, which is informed by your lived experiences, your social identities, and your beliefs about teaching.
  3. Reflect on equitable and effective teaching practices.
  4. Investigate a sampling of higher education institutions and roles through faculty panels and a virtual campus visit. You’ll learn about the academic job search, faculty work life, and the unique roles you might have as a college educator.

Eligibility

  • Participants must have achieved doctoral candidacy before the start of the seminar. Preference will be given to advanced-standing graduate students (i.e. anticipated graduation before Winter 2026).
  • Spring term enrollment is not required for participation in the PFF seminar.
  • Postdocs are not eligible to apply.
  • Participants who don’t have any teaching experience—but plan to apply for faculty roles with teaching responsibilities—are eligible to apply. Participants with GSI experience or other teaching-related experiences (e.g. mentoring, lab supervision, tutoring, grading) before the start of the seminar will be prioritized. 

Attendance Expectations

Consistent participation and engagement in this five-week program are crucial parts of the program. This is because every session's content builds off the prior ones, and we want to build a robust team-based learning environment for all participants. For these reasons:

  • In order to successfully engage in the PFF program, participants must participate in at least 9 of the 10 sessions to be eligible for the Preparing Future Faculty certificate. 
  • Before submitting the applications, we highly recommend that you start reserving the weekly session times to fully engage in this program (Tuesdays/Thursdays, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, May 6 - June 5, 2025).
  • If applicants expect to miss more than one session, we may ask you to reapply in a future seminar. 

Online Application Requirements

  • Online application form including:
    • Contact information, program/department information, program eligibility
    • 1-paragraph professional bio
    • 1-paragraph overview of your teaching experience
    • 1-paragraph discussion of your interest in PFF
  • A current CV

Graduate Teacher Certificate

  • Successful completion of the Seminar will count towards the "B. Learning about teaching" requirement of the Graduate Teacher Certificate. 
  • To receive credit for the "E. Reflection on instructional practice" requirement of the Graduate Teacher Certificate, you still must submit your statement of teaching practice for a consultation with a CRLT graduate student instructor consultant. 

If you have any further questions about the application process, please email [email protected].
 

What Past Participants Have Said About the Seminar

“The concrete rubric for teaching statements was incredibly helpful in actually writing my statement, since all I had at the beginning of the program were random thoughts and experiences with teaching with little to no idea on how to put them together cohesively into a statement. I also didn't truly appreciate the difficulty of designing a course from scratch before, so the assignment for designing a course was a good perspective to get.”

- A participant from STEM


“I liked learning about different career options and learning different skills (course design, informal interviewing, etc.), working with my peers in my discipline and in different ones, and incorporating equity-focused teaching principles. I also felt unsure about the academic job market since I had little teaching experience, but I would feel comfortable starting in a job with teaching responsibilities after what I learned in this course.”

-A participant from the Social Sciences


“Something I'll take away from the seminar is that there is space to be authentic as a scholar and teacher. I think we often think about this work as a list of boxes to check off, and making sure we're saying the right thing, and while there is perhaps some truth to that, I've also learned about how I can use my values and experiences to meet those objectives. To be brief, I don't have to fundamentally change anything about myself or my work to have a career in academia.”

-A participant from the Humanities


“The PFF seminar offered a holistic perspective on what life as a faculty member would look like at a variety of institutions. Being at Michigan, doctoral students have an understanding of what an R1 can look like, but PFF was able to provide insight into R2 and teaching-centered institutions. I also gained valuable perspective from my cohort on what to consider during my job hunt and valuable questions to ask during my job search to ensure the department is a good fit.” 

-A participant from the Health Sciences