The Future Faculty Fellows (FFF) program in Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering helps PhD students and postdocs explore the academic career path and successfully compete in the job market. The FFF program supported 12 fellows in the 2023-24 cohort along their job application journey.
The program offers resources to fellows to help them develop their research, teaching and diversity statements for their application packets, prepare for interviews, and begin their faculty positions. Fellows received feedback on their written application materials and research presentations from engineering communication faculty through one-on-one consultations.
Collectively, the 2023-24 FFF cohort submitted more than 430 applications to tenured-track faculty positions and received more than 20 offers for employment.
“This program is truly an asset to the School of Engineering at Rice, helping doctoral students and postdocs understand and prepare for a successful academic career,” said Renata Ramos, senior associate dean of academic affairs and teaching professor in bioengineering. “Over the course of the year, the fellows progressed in their understanding of the application process and expectations of a faculty position, developed confidence and self-awareness in making decisions about their careers and became more articulate when presenting their research.”
This year, the FFF program offered 13 workshops and panels featuring 18 Rice Engineering faculty members who shared their insight about the academic career path. The Activate Engineering Communications Program’s Tracy Volz and Kamisha Escoto led many of the workshops, with topics including preparing the job talk, preparing a cover letter, interview tips and managing Q&A. The Center for Teaching Excellence led a workshop on best practices for writing a teaching statement.
Activate Engineering’s faculty also led an Interview Tips workshop for the fellows. “I hadn’t done a faculty interview at that point,” said Jaihee Choi, who graduated in 2024 with a Ph.D. in statistics and recently accepted a tenure-track position with Marquette University. “Everyone leading the workshop was seasoned and helpful in framing responses.”
By the end of May 2024, three fellows had accepted tenure-track positions with other universities, and two fellows took positions with national research labs. Fellows shared that the one-on-one guidance from the FFF program faculty helped them make the right decisions at a critical stage in their careers.
“If you are curious about academia as a future, you should apply to this program,” said Paola Castante-Bonilla, who graduated in 2024 with a Ph.D. in computer science and recently accepted a tenure-track position with Stony Brook University. “It will help you figure out what you want to do in the future. The program is a great place where you can figure out if academia is a good match for you.”
Rice Engineering Ph.D. students and postdocs who are planning to apply for tenure-track faculty positions in the fall are invited to apply for the 2024-25 Future Faculty Fellows program. Applications will be accepted through June 7, 2024.