Professional Development

The AHA is excited to announce that ImaginePhD—the free, online career exploration and planning tool for Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences is now available for use!

It is an on-line platform that helps students think about career possibilities and to develop a resume from their cv, among other things.  

Some explanatory excerpts from this site state: “These days many newly minted PhDs feel a desperate need to keep all options on the table…ImaginePhD was created to help PhD students and recent graduates find a good starting point, offering important tools and insights for their journey from grad school to early career. The website provides numerous resources to explore different career paths and map out a plan for degree completion alongside career/professional development.”

Please read the introductory blub, which is available at this site:​  http://blog.historians.org/2018/04/imaginephd/

ImaginePhD users are able to:

• assess their career-related skills, interests, and values
• explore careers paths appropriate to their disciplines
• map out steps for degree completion alongside career and professional development

Developed by experts from over 50 universities, ImaginePhD offers a unique platform that teaches PhDs about popular job sectors, search strategies, and how to transfer skills across settings. A similar Graduate Career Consortium tool targeting STEM graduate students currently has over 100,000 users.

We encourage you to explore the site at http://www.imaginephd.com.

Internship opportunities are available at The History Center in Tompkins County, which dates back in one form or another to 1863 and houses both artifacts and written archives pertaining to Ithaca and its surroundings. The History Center serves as an open museum, with both fixed and changing exhibitions; a research archive and library; a venue for regular events and talks (ca. once a week); and, in partnership with other organizations (such as Heritage Ithaca), creator and facilitator of historical tours, oral history projects, and historical education programs. The History Center owns the Eight Square Schoolhouse which is a site on Kids Discover the Trail. Interns may shadow employees and volunteers through the different activities, assist with one or more of The History Center's programs, and/or research and develop particular components (such as writing narratives and creating interactive videos). Expected commitment: ca. 4 hours/week for a semester or summer.

Are you interested in the publication field?  The Cornell University Press (founded 1869) may be a place for you to explore.  The Press offers  opportunities for graduate students to experience its rich array of activities:  metadata creation, author and peer reviewer correspondence, assembling book proposals, grant writing, market research, royalty payouts, and website redesign. The Press issues ca. 150 new titles a year across a range of disciplines (history, anthropology, political science, international affairs and sociology) and is in the process of reissuing selections from its backlist in open-access format. A modest per/hour fee is available if desired/hours to be worked are negotiable.