We are delighted to announce that Dr. Robby Nadler will be back on campus for a series of workshops in March and April of 2024.
Dr. Nadler served as UCSB's Academic, Professional, and Technical Graduate Writing Development Director from 2018-2023. He is currently a lecturer for the Academic and Professional Writing Program at Victoria University of Wellington. His research utilizes quasi-experimental designs to learn about nontraditional basic writers, scientific writing & science communication, and professional & technical writing (particularly grant writing and job application materials).
To register for any of Dr. Nadler's events, please visit the GSRC's Shoreline page.
The Academic Job Market Writing Success Series
The Academic Job Market Writing Success Series aims to help participants master the critical components of an academic job search. These sessions welcome graduate students and postdocs in any stage of their academic careers and from all academic disciplines.
Part 1
Are you preparing to go on the academic job market this year and want to get started on your materials? Do you need help creating application documents that fit the conventions of your discipline and also highlight your unique qualifications? The Academic Job Market Writing Success Series is here to support all graduate students and postdocs. Join Dr. Robby Nadler for workshops on mastering the critical components of an academic job search. These sessions welcome graduate students and postdocs in any stage of their academic careers and from all academic disciplines.
Click below to learn more about each session.
Mon, Mar 04, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
McCune Conference Room, 6020 HSSB
Arguably the most important document when applying for any academic job is the cover letter. Why? Because it is the first thing that the hiring committee reads. Based on that document alone, people will decide whether to consider the rest of your application and further you in the various job rounds. So important is this document that merely having it formatted incorrectly could cost you the position.
We begin out Academic Job Market Series with cover letters: what they are, what they look like, and how to write them for the job that you are applying for. Participants will learn what the major sections of a cover letter entail and how to tailor a cover letter to specific positions (e.g., a teaching-focused position versus a research-oriented one). Should time permit, we will also workshop our cover letters with each other, so bring a draft of your letter if you have one!
Tue, Mar 05, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
McCune Conference Room, 6020 HSSB
How do you distill your entire academic and professional career into one document? You may be the best candidate for a job, but if you do not have a well-organized C.V., then you're likely to get lost in the application pile. This is just as true for other academic contexts (grants!, grants!, grants!) where a C.V. is requested to determine your qualifications. So how do you distill your entire academic and professional career into one document?
Come to this workshop and learn what the major sections of a C.V. include and how to tailor your C.V. to specific positions (e.g., a teaching-focused position versus a research-oriented one). Should time permit, we will also workshop our C.V.s with each other, so bring a draft of C.V. if you have one!
Wed, Mar 13, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
SRB Multipurpose Room
You have convinced the hiring committee that you are a strong candidate for your dream job through a strong cover letter that conveyed why you are a match for the position. Then your polished C.V. demonstrated that you have the key experiences to be successful. But what about the core of your scholarship? What about where you see your research in five years? The hiring committee wants to have a good sense of what your research interests are, what projects you are looking to undertake, and how it is you see yourself meeting the disciplinary standards for tenure. After all, they are not hiring you as is: they are hiring the scholar that they think you will become. How do you achieve this goal? With a research statement/five-year plan.
Continuing our Academic Job Market Writing Success Series, we will explore the research statement and the five-year plan: what they are, what they look like, and which one is right for you. Participants will learn how to write about their research and draft a projection of ways to meet their discipline's publishing standards. Should time permit, we will also workshop our documents with each other, so bring a draft of your research statement or five-year plan if you have one!
Thu, Mar 14, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
McCune Conference Room , 6020 HSSB
You are almost there! The hiring committee thinks that you are an accomplished scholar and researcher, and they are impressed by the trajectory of your career and how you see diversity fitting into that equation. But this is a teaching-heavy position, so as wonderful as your next book or article sounds, that does not mean much if you cannot convince the hiring committee that you are also a wonderful presence in the classroom. How do you do that--especially if your exposure to teaching has been as a T.A. with no instructor of record experience? A strong teaching philosophy will go a long way to prove your mettle in a classroom.
To continue our Academic Job Market Writing Success Series, we will explore teaching philosophies: what they are, what they look like, and how to make yours shine. Participants will learn how to convey their previous teaching experiences in pedagogical terms and how to incorporate applicable examples from their teaching careers. Should time permit, we will also workshop our documents with each other, so bring a draft of your teaching philosophy if you have one!
Mon, Apr 01, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
McCune Conference Room , 6020 HSSB
One of the more recent additions to candidates' job market dossiers is the diversity statement. While not every institution requests one, more and more are. This is because colleges and universities are trying to ensure that any candidate hired is committed to diversity. This does not mean that if you identify as a cis-gendered, heterosexual, white male that you are exempt from this document; it equally does not mean that those of us whose identity markers compose common notions of diversity can simply talk about our backgrounds here. No, the diversity statement is where all candidates explain why diversity matters to them and how it fits into their academic goals. This means that everyone has something to say on the subject.
To conclude our summer's Academic Job Market Writing Success Series, we will explore diversity statements: what they are, what they look like, and how to make yours relevant to who you are. Participants will learn how to write about themselves, their research, and their teaching in relation to diversity, regardless of how participants personally view themselves along the diversity spectrum. Should time permit, we will also workshop our documents with each other, so bring a draft of your diversity statement if you have one!
Part 2
Are you preparing to go on the academic job market this year and want to know what to expect once you've wowed the committee with your application and been invited to the next step of the process? The Academic Job Market Success Series is here for you! Join Dr. Robby Nadler for workshops on how to master the crucial second stage of the academic job application process. These sessions welcome graduate students and postdocs in any stage of their academic careers and from all academic disciplines.
Click below to learn more about each session.
Tue, Apr 02, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
UCen, SB Mission Room
Candidates who impress a hiring committee with their written materials are advanced to an interview round. Here, committees take a closer look at the remaining candidates--with the intent of inviting a handful to a campus interview. But this is no ordinary interview. Committees are looking for particular answers, and often the question you hear (e.g., Tell us about your dissertation) isn't the question being asked (e.g., Tell us why your research is important). Knowing everything from the type of answers to give to how long your answers should be is critical for performing well. In this presentation, attendees will learn about the structure of interviews, what questions to expect, what answers they should give, and how to present themselves.
Mon, Apr 08, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
SRB Multipurpose Room
One of the most important elements of a campus visit is the job talk. This is where you present your scholarship to a room of potential colleagues and students. Sounds simple, right? Many a promising job talk has failed because the candidate did not prepare properly. Maybe the talk was too technical. Maybe the visuals were not executed well. In this workshop, participants will learn strategies behind how to communicate their research, appropriately, through spoken, visual, and written communication. While this presentation is aimed at job talks, students who are looking to better communicate their research, in any context, are welcome to attend.
Tue, Apr 09, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
UCen, SB Mission Room
The teaching demonstration is where a committee glimpses your teaching efficacy. And with only one class period to display your skills, there’s little margin for error. In this workshop, participants will learn about what goes into a strong teaching demonstration from a pedagogical perspective. From there, the workshop will inform candidates about various modes to engage an audience through spoken, visual, and written communication. This workshop will provide participants with a sense of what lesson to teach and how to teach said lesson. While this presentation is aimed at teaching demonstrations, students who are looking to better their teaching, in any context, are welcome to attend.
Wed, Apr 10, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
SRB Multipurpose Room
Chalk talks are a vital part of the campus visit for certain disciplines (often STEM and certain social sciences) because they demonstrate how a candidate thinks on their feet. However, this element of the job visit is often only open to faculty—leaving many students in the dark as to how to give one (or that they exist!). As a result, many candidates' first experience with this genre is when they are asked to prepare one despite the fact that this talk can make or break a candidate's visit. In the presentation, attendees will learn the fundamentals of chalk talks—what they are, what they look like, and how to prepare one.
Thu, Apr 11, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
SRB Multipurpose Room
The campus visit is the final round before a job offer is made. While it might seem that the visit is all about delivering a job talk or teaching demo, the campus visit is actually a highly-choreographed marathon of an interview. From the moment a candidate leaves their house to the moment they return, the entire visit is part of one long process of determining whom a department wants for their colleague. Whether it's from formal interviews with deans and chairs to informal ones with students over a lunch, knowing the different audiences you have to engage, what things you are allowed to—and expected to—discuss, and how to behave is essential for landing a job offer. This presentation will walk attendees through all the components of a campus visit to ensure they thrive on their visits.
Department of Defense NDSEG Mini Success Series
The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship offers up to four-year fellowships with full tuition, fees, stipend, and funding towards annual health insurance. This highly competitive fellowship is open to U.S. citizens and nationals who pursue a doctoral degree in one of fifteen supported disciplines at a U.S. institution of their choosing.
Click below to learn more about each session.
Tue, Mar 05, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
MRL 2053
Do you want $43,000? Would you like a prestigious honor on your CV? Are you a U.S. citizen or national resident? Are you pursuing research in one of the following areas: Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Biosciences (includes toxicology), Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Cognitive/Neural/Behavioral Sciences, Computer and Computational Sciences, Electrical Engineering, Geosciences (includes terrain, water, and air), Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering (includes undersea systems), Oceanography (includes ocean acoustics, remote sensing, and marine meteorology), or Physics (including optics)?
If you answered yes to all these questions, then you should consider applying for the Depart of Defense's National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program. The NDSEG is one of the most preeminent honors that a young scholar can receive. In addition to the distinction, the award provides research security and freedom by providing graduate students with $129,000 over three years. Simply put, as long as you meet the application’s criteria, there is no reason to pass up this opportunity. Learn more about who is eligible and what materials you need to apply by attending this session: What is the NDSEG? An Info Session. Besides covering the basics, we will walk you through all the steps of applying and answer any questions that you might have.
Thu, Mar 14, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Elings 1605
Unlike most research fellowships that require detailed proposals that go on for pages, the NDSEG requires two short statements that collectively tally five pages. With so much on the line and so little space to address the application’s review criteria, you need to know exactly what goes into these different statements and what evaluators look for in a successful statement.
This workshop will break down the two NDSEG statements by not only explaining what evaluators look for but also providing you with a framework to write these statements. While we cannot tell you what to write about, we can inform you on how to write about your work. This information is essential as the DoD is primed to reward applications in ways unique to its ideology. You cannot merely rely on your success from another application format because the DoD is interested in funding research with specific ties to its Broader Agency Announcements. Let us walk you through this style of writing and prepare you to craft a winning set of statements.
National Institutes of Health F Award Success Series
Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent/legal resident pursuing doctoral or postdoctoral work in health-related research? If so, you are likely eligible for the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) F31 predoctoral and/or F32 postdoctoral fellowship awards. An F award is one of the most preeminent honors that a young scholar can receive, and it sets up a pathway for future NIH funding at the postdoctoral and professorial levels. In addition to the distinction, the F-31 provides research security and freedom by providing graduate students with ~$27,000 annually in addition to annually covering 60% of tuition and fees (up to $16,000). Furthermore, as a training fellowship, F-31 recipients are provided close mentorship. F32 amounts vary by postdoctoral experience.
But applying to NIH F awards is a multi-layer process that requires understanding how to navigate the multiple institutes within the NIH, contacting program officers, securing a faculty mentor, and other components. Simply put, this is a complex process that many students and their faculty sponsors may feel under-prepared to tackle. This is why we have developed a series of workshops to support applicants and their sponsor through the various elements of the application process. Please click the events below to learn more about each individual session and to sign up.
Click below to learn more about each session.
Mon, Mar 04, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
BIOE 3001
Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent/legal resident pursuing doctoral or postdoctoral work in health-related research? If so, you are likely eligible for the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) F31 postdoctoral and/or F32 postdoctoral fellowship awards. The F31 provides graduate students with ~$27,000 annually in addition to annually covering 60% of tuition and fees (up to $16,000); F32 amounts vary by postdoctoral experience. Join us to learn more about these awards, how NIH funding schemes work, and how to start building a strong application.
Wed, Mar 13, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
BIOE 3001
Evaluators score NIH F Award proposals holistically on five areas over 60 pages. The areas assess the researcher's Specific Aims and Research Strategy—but the proposed research is only one element of a successful proposal. A strong application must execute numerous sections apart of the planned research, including a Biosketch, a goals statement, a research training plan, an institutional selection statement.... With so many pieces to compose, students can feel lost as to how to best present themselves and what information needs to be conveyed in each part.
This presentation will break down the various components of an F Award beyond the research proposal aspect. In doing so, attendees will learn not only what these sections are but also how to write them to earn a good score. This information is essential as the NIH is primed to reward applications in ways unique to its ideology. Let us walk you through this style of writing and prepare you to craft a winning application.
Fri, Mar 15, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
BIOE 3001
While all components of an F Award application are important, the element that receives heightened scrutiny in any NIH application is the Specific Aims and Research Strategy sections. Though only one page, the Specific Aims page conveys to readers what the goals of the proposed research are. But it is not that easy. Before telling a reader the rationale behind the investigation, it must first create a narrative to make these aims relevant—all before justifying the impact of this work in line with NIH's values. Following this document, the Research Strategy must put forward a proposal that not only proposes an investigate but also does so with the expected elements of an NIH application—including hypotheses, redundant approaches, and significance. Should any of these steps not be executed correctly, it is unlikely a proposal will be funded.
This presentation will focus on breaking down the underlying features of winning Specific Aims and Research Strategy through samples. Learn how to present a knowledge gap in your introduction. Explore how to craft strong transition statements that connect your research goals to impacts. Discover the format to writing a research proposal in line with NIH expectations.. While there is no one way to write an NIH F Award application, there is a pattern to how successful applications model themselves to hit all the essential criteria. Come learn how other writers have done this to excel with your own application.
As Specific Aims and Research Strategies pages are included in virtually all NIH applications, attendees are welcome to join whether they plan to apply for F Awards or any other NIH funding.