Postgraduate Pathways Summer Institute Graduate Academic Fellow

Graduate Academic Fellow

Job Description

The Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity (EBCAO) in the Office of the Dean of the College (ODOC) hosts a Postgraduate Pathways Summer Institute (PPSI) to introduce undergraduates–especially those from underserved and underrepresented groups–to careers in higher education related to the humanities and social sciences. The PPSI brings together interns in EBCAO’s Aspiring Scholars and Professionals (ASAP) program with rising juniors in Princeton’s Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) for a nine-week cohort experience from June 4-August 5, 2023. The Institute includes professional development programming and research methods workshops, and a mentored research experience that gives students the opportunity to put into practice what they are learning along the way. 

 

We are looking for an advanced graduate student to work in person with the PPSI this summer as a Graduate Academic Fellow (GAF). Skills include creativity and innovation around teaching professional development and quantitative research methods to undergraduates, especially those from backgrounds that are underserved and underrepresented in higher education. The position includes collaborating with the Director of Equitable Postgraduate Opportunity at EBCAO, Dr. Afia Ofori-Mensa, to design and deliver a workshop curriculum for PPSI that includes both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In particular, we seek a graduate student with the ability to teach survey design, data visualization, and basic quantitative research skills in the social sciences–including introductory statistics. The GAF will teach methods workshops in those areas to the 20 undergraduates in PPSI and provide comprehensive written assessments for half of that group at the end of the summer. The GAF will also facilitate weekly convenings of graduate students working for PPSI as Graduate Accountability Coaches (GAC), who coach small groups of four MMUF and ASAP undergraduates through making regular progress on their research and writing.

 

Expertise in R and/or Stata is desirable, though not required. Alumni of MMUF from any undergraduate institution, who are currently graduate students at Princeton, are especially encouraged to apply.

 

Job Requirements

Core Responsibilities

Curricular Design, Facilitation + Assessment
  • Design a developmental social sciences and humanities research methods curriculum–including workshop content and assignments–for undergraduates at varying levels of experience, in collaboration with Dr. Ofori-Mensa
  • Lead the development of quantitative aspects of that curriculum–including designing a progression of workshops on statistics, survey design, and data visualization
  • Collaborate with Dr. Ofori-Mensa on designing professional development workshops
  • Generate instruments and mechanisms for assessing the efficacy of the curriculum before, during, and after the summer institute 
  • Facilitate 1-2 workshops per week on statistics, survey design, or data visualization for 20 undergraduates during the period June 5-July 28
  • Facilitate an additional workshop each week on a professional development topic
  • Develop practices for assessing student progress and participation in and out of workshops
  • Communicate with Princeton faculty and staff members serving as supervising mentors to PPSI students about their academic needs throughout the summer
  • Generate a comprehensive written assessment for half of the students in the program (10 undergraduates) at the end of the summer
Graduate Student Coordination
  • Facilitate a weekly convening of Graduate Accountability Coaches to provide guidance and support to that role
  • Consult with individual GACs as needed to strategize around PPSI undergraduate participants’ needs and challenges

Responsibilities May Also Include

Presentation Preparation
  • Work with undergraduates in PPSI to prepare their oral presentations for the Postgraduate Pathways Summer Symposium, which will take place July 31-August 3
Accountability Coaching
  • Lead a group of 3-4 undergraduate PPSI participants through setting specific, measurable, realistic, and time-framed (SMART) goals for each of their projects during a one-hour group meeting each week
  • Talk with them about strategies for managing internal and external challenges that arise in their research and writing
  • Affirm and express empathy with their experiences as new researchers
  • Facilitate their sense of community with one another
  • Write periodic emails or have conversations, as needed, with students in the accountability group who have questions or concerns about making progress on their projects

 

Instructions for Applying

Please email a cover letter and CV using the subject “PPSI 2023 GAF Application” to Dr. Afia Ofori-Mensa at [email protected], and Cc EBCAO Manager Christy Kahler at [email protected], no later than Monday, March 20, 2023.

 

General Information: 

Available Openings: 1

Hours: 10.0 hours per week

Hourly Rate: $30.00/hour

Time Frame: Spring 2023, Summer 2023

Spring Dates: April 10, 2023 - May 14, 2023

Summer Dates: May 15, 2023 - August 20, 2023 

 

Primary Contact

Afia Ofori-Mensa

[email protected]

+1 (609) 258-5625