The Department of English at the University at Buffalo has a long and successful record of placing students in both academic and non-academic careers. Some of our alums hold tenured positions at places like the the University of Colorado-Boulder, Oregon State, the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, the University of Maine, and UC Berkeley. Recent graduates have tenure track positions in places like Michigan State, High Point, Old Dominion, Tulane University, Wake Forest, the University of Lodz, and Yonsei University. Many alums hold the equivalent of tenured positions at universities across Europe and Asia. Other alums hold prestigious and rewarding positions that utilize their skills and degrees in publishing, the media, and the arts.
What we do
While many students enter graduate school in order to pursue a career in academia, national trends indicate that about fifty percent of PhDs in the humanities find positions on the tenure track. This shift reflects the economic realities of higher education in the US, something that responsible departments are all adjusting to accommodate. With this professional environment in mind, the department offers strong support for graduate students pursuing academic careers and also a wealth of support for those who seek some form of employment beyond the tenure track.
We encourage students to begin considering their professional development from the day they arrive to Buffalo, offering courses on pedagogical theory and workshops on professional development during the first semester. Thereafter students have the opportunity to develop and teach composition and literature courses, to join graduate workshops in areas that will expand areas of research and teaching competence, and to receive course credit for a writing seminar (ENG 706), in which they focus on revising an earlier seminar paper for publication. The department also offers intensive, hands-on mentoring on issues from crafting job application materials to preparing for interviews. These opportunities and requirements are designed to ensure that students approaching the academic job market will have the skills and perspective necessary to conduct a successful job search.
The department also hosts talks and events designed to familiarize students with professional opportunities that are available outside the academy in what are often called Alternative-Academic (or “Alt-Ac”) positions. Recent events have included visiting editors talking about careers in publishing, career consultants discussing strategies for joining the non-academic workforce, curators talking about finding a career in the arts, and alums discussing jobs in academic administration.
The program at UB is intentionally designed to be flexible, affording students to design opportunities that will helpful in opening professional opportunities both within and outside the university.
Statistics
Year | Graduates | Tenure Track (or equivalent) | Full Time, Non-TT (incl. post-docs) | Alt-Ac | Full Time Academic (TT, lecturer, postdoc) | Full Time, Academic or Alt-Ac |
2020 | 14 | 1 *Middlebury College
| 7 *Visiting Assistant Professor, UB (x3) *Niagara University *Moore Digital Archive, UB *Howard University *Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow | 1 *Content Development Specialist, Albright-Knox Art Gallery | 57% | 64% |
2019 | 17 | 3 *High Point University *Jeonbuk University (South Korea) *National Central University (Taiwan)
| 6 *University of Nevada-Reno *Temple University *Dartmouth College *University of Tampa *California State University-East Bay *Clinical Assistant Professor, UB
| 1 * Technical Writer | 53% | 59% |
2018 | 13 | 3 *Forman Christian College (Pakistan) *Hongik University (South Korea) * Semarang State University (Indonesia)
|
6 * Brittain Postdoc, Georgia Institute of Technology
*Junior Fellow, Dartmouth College *Reference Librarian, Daemon College *Writing Consultant, Baruch College-CUNY (x2)
|
2 *Marketing Coodinator
*U.S. Government | 69% | 85% |
2017 | 13 | 5 *Lebanon Valley College *Assistant Curator, Poetry Collection, UB *Bakersfield College
*Alfred State College *County College of Morris
| 2 *Postdoctoral Fellow, University College, Dublin *Buffalo State College | 3 *City Council Member, Eau Claire, WI *Freelance Creative Writer, Poetry *Freelance Writer | 54% | 77% |
2016 | 18 | 5 *Buffalo State University *Kobe City University (Japan) *American University (Kuwait) *United International College, University of Zhuhai (China ) *University of North Georgia | 5 *Post-Doc, Duke University *Korea University, Seoul *University at Buffalo, SUNY *University of Utah *University of Kelaniya (Sri Lanka) | 1 *Assoc. Vice Provost for International Ed., U. Buffalo | 55% | 61% |
2015 | 9 | 4 *Lynchburg University *University of Louisiana, Lafayette *American University (Kuwait) *Kennesaw State University | 3 *Lynchburg University *Houston Community College *University of Seoul (S. Korea) | 0 | 78% | 78% |
2014 | 18 | 4 *Cal Poly, San Louis Obispo *University of South Dakota *Arctic University of Norway *Changwon National University (Korea) | 4 *Post-doc, University at Antwerp *Penn State, Abington *Meijigakuin University (Japan) | 2 *Staff Writer, University Provost’s Office, U. Buffalo *Faculty, Germantown Academy | 44% | 55% |
2013 | 18 | 8 *Michigan State *University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire (x2) *Adams State University *Bethel College *Francis Marion *Hacettepe University (Turkey) *Old Dominion University | 5 *Michigan State *Villa Maria College *Hamilton College *High Point University *Monroe Community College | 3 *Editor, Oxford University Press *Faculty, John F. Kennedy Middle School *Faculty, Oakwood Preparatory School | 72% | 88% |
2012 | 14 | 6 *Newcastle University (UK) *Webster University (Vienna, Austria) *Pacific Union College *University of Lodz (Poland) *Wright State University *University of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
| 1 *Vanire College, Montreal (Canada) | 2 *Faculty, Buffalo Seminary *Faculty, Edward Kennedy Academy for Health Careers | 50% | 64% |
2011 | 12 | 4 *University of North Carolina, Wilmington *Buffalo State University *Hansung University, Seoul (South Korea) *University of Surrey (UK) | 3 *Post-Doc, University of Turku (Finland) *Teaching professor, U. Missouri-KC; *Lecture, University at Albany (SUNY) | 1 *Faculty, Buffalo Seminary | 58% | 67% |
2010 | 12 | 7 *Fordham University *Wake Forest University *Evergreen State College *D’Youville College *University of Tokyo (Japan) *University of the Ryukyus (Japan *Kyoto Sangyo University (Japan)
| 1 *Meijigakuin University, Japan | 0 | 67% | 67% |
2009 | 11 | 7 *City University of NY *University of Mississippi *University at Stony Brook (SUNY) *St. Mary’s College *University of Houston *Lehigh University *Rikkyo University, Tokyo | 1 *Sookmyung Women’s University (South Korea) | 2 *Director, Gender Center, Marquette University *Associate Director of LGBT Resource Center, Grand Valley State University | 72% | 90% |
2008 | 14 | 8 *University of Colorado, Boulder *Texas A&M *Cal. Poly., San Luis Obispo *Wilkes University *Buffalo State University *University of Texas, El Paso *Canisius College *Villa Maria College
| 1 *Adjunct, New School for Social Research (NYC) | 1 *Senior Policy Advisor, Ontario Ministry of Education (Canada) | 64% | 71% |
2007 | 12 | 7 *Tulane University *U. of Richmond *U. of Memphis *Virginia Wesleyan *Whitman College *U. Nebraska, Lincoln *Penn State, Worthington-Scranton
| 0 | 1 *Curator of The Poetry Collection, University at Buffalo | 58% | 67% |
* One student was offered a tenure track job but declined for family reasons
Books by recent graduates
Resources: the following are a few links resources to help your job search.
MLA makes available an excellent guide to career planning:
https://connect.mla.hcommons.org/doctoral-student-career-planning-faculty-toolkit/
A fantastic book about finding an academic job
https://theprofessorisin.com/buy-the-book/
An excellent book on preparing for the academic job market
http://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9781403978929
MLA Job Information List:
https://apps.mla.org/login_dual?xurl=jil_search
Academic Keys (jobs in Humanities)
http://humanities.academickeys.com/seeker_search.php
An excellent book on finding work outside the academy
http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo19503047.html
UB is a member of the largest online community dedicated to non-academic and non-faculty careers for PhD graduates. http://grad.buffalo.edu/study/beyond/professionaldevelopment/versatilephd.html