Professional Development
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Professional Development workshops are mandatory for all PhD students at various levels of the program. In addition to covering the topics listed, each meeting serves as a “cohort meeting” to check in with students of each year and think about next steps for the year ahead.
Dissertation Seminar (THEO 5017)
Register for the seminar in FALL
The Dissertation Seminar (for students who are ABD) meets all academic year but you will not register for the official course until the spring semester. However, if you would like to participate in the seminar, you must participate throughout the full year, so you would begin in the fall (without registering) and then continue on in the spring, but you need to register in the spring. To indicate your interest in participating in 2026–2027, please email Michael Peppard by August 30th for the coming year. In recent years, participation has been capped at 8 students, so it is important to let the Director of Professional Development (Michael Peppard (2026-2027)) know of your intent to participate as soon as possible so that they orchestrate the logistics of the class [scheduling etc.].
Professionalization Seminar (THEO 9000)
Register in Spring (mandatory for all second year students)
If you plan to consult with the current Director (Dr. Peppard 2026-2027) for any professionalization work, you MUST register for THEO 9000: Professionalization Seminar. This is a zero-credit course and can be registered for up to three times, so even if you registered last year or the year before, you can enroll again.
Professionalization assistance includes: one-on-one conversations with the Director about applying for jobs (academic or otherwise) or fellowships, assistance with cover letters, resumes/CVs, teaching statements and other materials, mock interviews, job advice, advice negotiating salaries, and more. In other words, if you plan to apply for any jobs OR fellowships this year (whether one or twenty-five) and you plan to ask for any advice or assistance with this process, please register for THEO 9000. Also, I ask that you do this sooner rather than later, as numbers in this course affect the overall department course enrollment averages which have very serious bearing for how many courses we can offer students still in course work.
Schedule for Spring 2026
Schedule for Spring 2026
Coordinated by Prof. Michael Peppard
All meetings are Thursdays, 1:00-2:30 PM, in Duane 140
Jan 15 Organizational Meeting + Professional Discernment Exercises
(required for 2nd year Ph.D. students; open to all!)
Jan 22 Let’s Make Slides! Best Practices for Visual Aids
(required for 2nd year Ph.D. students; open to all!)
Feb 12 Adjacent Careers Around and Outside Academia
(required for 2nd year Ph.D. students; open to all!)
With special guest Aaron Hollander (and maybe more TBA)
Feb 19 Applying and Preparing for Comps
(required for 2nd year Ph.D. students; not relevant for others)
With guest Jeannine Hill-Fletcher
Feb 26 What Are Academic Conferences For?
(required for 2nd year Ph.D. students; open to all!)
With guest Natalia Imperatori-Lee
Mar 19 “Are You, Like, Really Religious?” Navigating THEO and RLST
(required for 2nd year Ph.D. students; open to all!)
With guests Leo Guardado and Erez DeGolan
Mar 26 A.I. for Teachers and Scholars: Hopes and Fears
(required for 2nd year Ph.D. students; open to all!)
With special guest TBA
Apr 9 Dissertation Topics, Proposals, and Perseverance
(required for 2nd-3rd year Ph.D. students; open to all!)
With guest Cristie Traina
Apr 16 hold for make-up date, in case of weather or illness cancelation
GSAS Professional Development Resources
Career pathways, Career resources, Workshops and Events, Self-Care, Mentoring, Internships, Futures.
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