Post-PhD: the Postdoctoral Fellowship

What, exactly, is a humanities post-doc? A rough borrowing from the STEM fields, today’s post-doctoral fellowships in the humanities range from teaching-heavy triages for the job market to a chance for young researchers to develop the research record needed for tenure-line positions to joining an already established project or research network. By answering the what, where, and how of the humanities post-doc, this paper seeks to provide graduate students and new PhDs information on an increasingly important option for employment after the doctorate. Focusing primarily on the SSHRC post-docs, this paper begins with what post-docs are available in North America and abroad. While the humanities PhD has fewer choices than their STEM counterpart, there is more available than one might expect. I then turn to a general discussion of the application process, the most important considerations of which are planning ahead and marketing oneself and one’s research to the grant concerned. Finally, I will finish with some reflections on my year as a SSHRC post-doc and on the advice I have found the most helpful.