Academic Resources

Over the years I’ve compiled a number of resources that have helped me learn how to jump over the various hurdles that stand between applying to graduate school and receiving the Ph.D. (and finding gainful employment). While I am continuing to learn the ins and outs of academic life, I hope that the following list of resources, tips, and “tricks” will prove useful to music scholars and humanists. I am particularly invested in supporting fellow Black students and scholars and would be happy to discuss these resources and processes further via email, as time allows.

Two tips that underlay nearly everything on this page: the first is to hone your writing skills. Academics are evaluated by their writing constantly, and I’m not saying that this is the best feature of academic life, but there’s no denying it. I made it a priority to improve my writing during graduate school (primarily through regular appointments at the writing center—a simple but effective strategy), and it was easily one of the best and most profitable decisions I have ever made in my academic career.

The second tip is to start early. Preparing application materials takes time, and if at all possible you should carve out the time in your schedule that you think you’ll need to complete a task, and then some. In some cases, this means starting two weeks before the deadline; in other cases, it means starting three or four months before the deadline. Giving yourself the gift of time is one of the kindest things you can do for your future self.

Applying to Graduate School

  • Personal Statement: consult guides on writing personal statements (1 | 2 | 3); use the statement as an opportunity to illustrate your clear(, refined, expressive, etc.) writing style; practically speaking, it is generally best to tailor only the final paragraph(s) to each school

  • CV: consult guides on preparing CVs (1 | 2 | 3 | 4); look at the CVs of peers, mentors, etc. (or sample CVs online); make it clean, organized, and easy to read/scan for information; don’t be worried if it’s a little short (2–3 pp.) at this point in your career, or if it includes some information not found in the CVs of more senior scholars (e.g., relevant coursework taken); remember, it’s not the same as a resume

  • Writing Sample(s): write papers in advance (aim to write a maximum of one new paper in the fall semester); select work that best represents you as a scholar in the current moment; ensure that your papers are as polished as possible (this is arguably the most important component of your application); make your work legible and compelling to non-specialists (make the stakes clear—why does your research matter / why should the reader care?)

  • Letters of Recommendation: ask for letters at least one month in advance; make things as convenient and straightforward as possible for your letter writers (provide drafts of all application materials, information regarding submission logistics, brief explanations on why you’re interested in each school, etc.); send friendly reminder emails as needed; send thank-you emails/cards afterwards

  • General Advice: start early and create a schedule/timeline for getting things done (and leave some breathing room); make sure that all of your materials go through at least two rounds of revisions; utilize your university’s writing center, if possible; give yourself time to receive and incorporate feedback from peers and mentors (and seek out these people to do this—don’t be afraid to ask for help); don’t be afraid to apply to your dream program (“you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”); don’t be afraid to ask for an application fee waiver if you need one (your socioeconomic status should never be an obstacle to applying to grad school)

  • Warning: do not buy into the myth that a Ph.D., even one from a fancy school, will guarantee you a stable academic job. For proof, just read the sobering NYTimes article, “The Bleak Job Landscape of Adjunctopia for Ph.D.s” (March 2020), Karen Kelsky’s blog post “Leave Now” (November 2020), or the “Program Outcomes” portion of Yale’s “Report of the Humanities Doctoral Education Advisory Working Group” (February 2021). In today’s academic job market, all humanities Ph.D. students should seriously consider career paths outside of the professoriate that would lead to a fulfilling work life. Those who have yet to begin pursuing a Ph.D. should seriously consider if this is the right path for them. Statistically speaking, given the overproduction of Ph.D.s in the U.S. and the general decline of the humanities, the likelihood that you would land a stable/tenure-track job as a professor is slim.

Finding Mentors / Networking

  • (Note: this can be done before and during the grad school application process, as well as after)

  • Don’t rely on one person for everything: as the mentoring map by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) demonstrates, it takes a multitude of people with different personalities and skillsets to meet your personal and professional needs

  • Apply to participate in mentorship programs run by major societies (AMS, SMT, SEM, etc.), and/or by your university

  • Whether it be in your department, at your university, or at a conference, do your best to put yourself out there and meet people that you admire and respect. This can be done in person, via email, or potentially even via social media. Demonstrating a respect for and understanding of someone’s work is often a great way to spark a conversation

  • Consult resources on developing healthy mentor-mentee relationships (1 | 2 | 3 | 4)

Applying to Conferences

  • Writing the Proposal: Megan Long’s Twitter thread on strategies for proposal-writing (2020); Anabel Maler’s Twitter thread on strategies for proposal-writing (2021); Joseph Straus’s SMT-sponsored guide on “How to Write a Proposal” (2007); Karen Kelsky’s blog post on “How to Write a Paper or Conference Proposal Abstract” (2011)

  • General Advice: consult your colleagues and mentors to know if it would best for you to apply for grad student conferences, regional conferences, and/or national conferences; just because proposals are short, don’t wait until the last minute to write them (starting 2+ weeks in advance is ideal); avoid jargon and overly technical language; get as close to the max word count as possible (don’t waste an opportunity to add detail or nuance); revise multiple times, seek out feedback, etc. (see tips above in “Applying to Graduate School”)

  • Writing the Paper: consult guides on writing conference papers (1 | 2 | 3); ask for feedback from your colleagues and mentors; give run-throughs of your presentation to friends and colleagues; take note when others give presentations that you really like, and think about what made them particularly effective

Applying for Grants and Fellowships

  • Proposal/Prospectus: consult guides on writing proposals/prospectuses (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5); grab the attention of the reader on the first page with a hook, cold open, etc.; organize your ideas clearly (if you can’t reverse-engineer a solid outline, it probably could use some work); make your work legible and compelling to non-specialists (make the stakes clear—why does your research matter / why should I care?); eliminate aspirational phrases like “I hope to” and “I aim to”—be confident that you either “will” do it or are already doing it!

  • Abstract: view the abstract as complementary to the proposal; write something from scratch instead of just copying and pasting a paragraph from your proposal; keep track of the abstracts of varying lengths that you write, so when a new application asks for an abstract that is X words long, you don’t need to completely start from scratch

  • Personal Statement: see above (in “Applying to Graduate School”); avoid telling your whole life story, and focus on tangible things that you have done in your life/career

  • Writing Sample: see above (in “Applying to Graduate School,” specifically “Writing Samples” and “General Advice”)

  • Bibliography: consult guides on compiling bibliographies (1 | 2); make use of all of the space at your disposal to list as many sources as possible

  • Timelines, Budgets, etc.: be specific; demonstrate that you have a realistic plan of action; consult sample timelines and budgets when possible

  • Letters of Recommendations, CVs, General Advice, etc.: see above (in “Applying to Graduate School”)

Developing Healthy and Sustainable Writing Habits

  • Resources to Consult: Hayot, The Elements of Academic Style; Silvia, How to Write a Lot; Sword, Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write; and so on…(there are many books out there); sources on dissertations specifically (1 | 2 | 3 | 4)

  • What I’ve Found Helpful, Regarding Consistency: blocking off chunks of time in my schedule where I write (with my phone away, website blocker on, etc.); scheduling weekly writing groups with friends; signing up for university-run writing groups in which we share writing weekly

  • What I’ve Found Helpful, Regarding Motivation: making writing center appointments that force me to prepare something to share during the meeting; applying for conferences, fellowships, and other things with deadlines that force me to finish a prospectus/chapter/etc. ahead of the deadline (main point: external motivators are very helpful!)

  • Technology: Scrivener, EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley

Preparing Job Documents (selected)