Transcript Linking Anthropology Graduates to the Job Market

Linking Anthropology Graduates
to the Job Market
Committee for Practicing, Applied, and Public
Interest Anthropology (CoPAPIA)
Wendy Bartlo Keri Brondo Elizabeth Briody Shirley Fiske
February 26, 2011
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Outline
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Background: CoPAPIA efforts related to applied anthropology programs
Goals and design for applied program interviews
Some applied program commonalities
Some applied program differences
Suggestions for potential CoPAPIA initiatives
– Student/recent graduate ideas
– Faculty ideas
– Areas of agreement
• Next steps
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CoPAPIA has embarked on four recent and linked efforts to
assist applied anthropology programs in their development
1.
Conduct 20 interviews in 10 applied anthropology programs
– 10 faculty interviews and 10 interviews with graduate students or recent
graduates
– Timeframe: March – September 2010
2.
Gather “Delphi” survey data from 15 applied anthropology programs
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3.
4.
19 faculty surveys
Timeframe: December 2010 – February 2011
Use Delphi survey results to organize discussion at the 2011 SfAA
Session: “Bringing Practice into Your Department: Obstacles and
Opportunities”
Organize 2011 AAA Section Summit: “Changing Job Market and Student
Training: Linking Anthropology Departments and Practice”
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CoPAPIA has been engaged in other initiatives related to
applied programs
• 2010 AAA Section Summit
– Focused on tenure and promotion guidelines
– Participants cited changing job market and responsibility to train students for
careers within and beyond academy
• AAA Employer Expo
– CoPAPIA worked with the AAA Department of Practicing and Applied Programs
to support the 3rd and 4th annual Expos organized under NAPA leadership
– Event features employers interested in talking to anthropologists about
practicing anthropology
– Well-attended by students, faculty, and practicing anthropologists
• 2011 Report: “The Changing Face of Anthropology” (2009 M.A. Career
Survey)
– Focused on understanding how M.A. graduates craft career paths, assess
educational experiences in applied programs, and evaluate membership in
national organizations
– 883 respondents, with 758 meeting stated criteria for inclusion as primary
respondent group (an M.A. degree prior to 2008 from a North American
institution)
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Goals and design for applied program
interviews
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Three overarching goals characterize the research design of
the interview data set
1.
Identify the array of strategies used by applied programs to prepare
students for the job market
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Examine similarities across programs
Explore differences (e.g., in philosophy, approach, local circumstances)
Compare and contrast student and faculty data
Compile a list of potential CoPAPIA initiatives that
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Reflect the mix of student/recent graduate and faculty views
Could support and strengthen applied programs
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Data and Methods
• Applied anthropology programs sample: 8 offer M.A. degrees and 2 offer
M.A./M.A.A. and Ph.D. degrees
• Interviewee sample: 3 current students, 6 M.A. graduates, 1 Ph.D.
graduate, and 10 faculty members
• Key interview questions
– What is your department currently doing to prepare students for the job
market?
– What more could your department be doing to help prepare students for the
job market? (Asked of some students/recent graduates)
– What can CoPAPIA/AAA do to help link graduates to the job market?
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Some applied program commonalities
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What are the 10 applied programs currently doing to link their
graduates to the job market?
• Practicum/Internships (9)
• Integration of job skills into core curriculum through methods courses,
applied courses, grant and resumé writing (7)
• Networking opportunities with alumni (6)
• Bringing students to/encouraging them to attend conferences (5)
• Workshops or exercises to help students translate skills (4)
• Networking with practitioners, including adjuncts (4)
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What are some of the features of the internship/practicum
experience in applied programs?
• 9 programs have a formal internship, while the 10th is developing it
• Although the structure of each program is different, there are some
common goals
– Emphasis is on translating classroom training to job market
– Students engage in networking to identify internship prospects
– Students are typically responsible for finding and planning their own
internship
• First semester is typically a preparatory phase involving
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Discerning the type of internship
Exploring own, faculty, peer, alumni and/or adjunct networks for opportunities
Learning “professionalization” skills (e.g., writing cover letters, resumé)
Conducting informational interviews
• Second semester is the internship
• Following the internship, students typically write a report – both for the
degree requirements and the client
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Program alumni and adjuncts may play important roles in
graduate training and in linking graduates to employment
• Some alumni and adjunct roles include:
– Being invited to campus for department events, talks, and networking
opportunities
– Serving as instructors
– Mentoring students
– Helping students network
– Hiring interns or providing practicum experiences for students
– Hiring graduates of the program
– Providing critical feedback and evaluation of their training to the department
• Some programs do not reach out much to either alumni or adjuncts
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What else do students/recent graduates say they need to
prepare for the job market?
• Coursework
– More methods training (e.g., “learning about focus groups,” qualitative data
analysis software, quantitative analysis and statistics training, survey methods)
– Written comments/feedback from professors on student papers
– “Sometimes the classes were not offered frequently enough”
• More “professionalization” preparation
– “Greater focus on interviewing, job search”
– “Developing proposals”
– Better preparation about how to “sell” anthropological skills
• More “real world” experiences
– “Smaller projects on tighter deadlines”
– “More work experience,” “an internship project”
– Some training tailored to the local/regional job markets
• Mentoring and guidance – both internal and external (e.g., “someone
pointing out my strengths and skills”)
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Students/recent graduates generally find their own jobs postgraduation, but are often aided by their applied programs
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Receive offers from their practicum/internship experience
Access the contacts from their internship to find employment
Network with alumni and classmates to find employment
Work with faculty and advisors to identify job opportunities
Put key words such as “ethnography” and “qualitative research” on
LinkedIn profile; firm initiated contact
• Apply for posted positions
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Some applied program differences
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Applied anthropology programs are culturally distinctive
• Specific program elements (e.g., philosophy, community roles) shape
program functioning
– Saliency of these program elements depends on such factors as the number of
mentions, extent of elaboration, and where those program elements appear
in the transcript
– Tone/quality of voice (e.g., enthusiastic responses) suggests that these
distinguishing elements are highly valued by interviewees
• Decided to examine interviews from 4 of the 10 programs to capture some
of these distinctions
– Developed a visual to illustrate program culture
– Selected key quotes consistent with that program culture
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University of Memphis integrates community members,
particularly alumni, into all aspects of program functioning
Alums as “lifeblood”
“Everyday activities”
of the program
Community
Advisory
Board
• “Our graduates are in the (local) job
market. A lot are called back (to
campus). We’ve had opportunities to
meet with them. We can network with
them. We can volunteer our time with
them to get our foot in the door.”
• “We ask them for a critique and
evaluation of the program.”
“Everyday activities”
• “Once they (the alums) have taken on a
student, they will take on another.”
• “When the SfAA meetings took place in
Memphis a couple of years ago, 150
alums came. At the time, this number
of alums represented about half of our
alums.”
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University of Maryland, College Park calls upon the experience,
contacts, and energy of its adjunct faculty
• “The value of the adjunct is enormous.
It is important to reach out to them.
They can help you understand how
your interest in anthropology can
translate to a career.”
Adjuncts
• Give lectures
• Facilitate internships
• Offer independent studies
• Provide career advice
Year 1
Year 2
• “Our department uses the adjunct
members well. Yesterday, an M.A.A.
student defended his proposal. The
student will work at the Bureau of Land
Management. An adjunct faculty found
that opportunity.”
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Northern Arizona University uses the structure of the cohort
progression to build and extend student networks
“Student centered”
“cohort philosophy”
Faculty teaching,
advising, and
networks
3-part
internship
sequence
Permissible to
switch to or from
applied track to
thesis track
• “The cohort effect is a deliberate part
of the job search process. Even after
the end of the program, they (applied
students) are helping each other.”
• “The cohort networks (of archaeology
alums) maintain that level of staffing
(locally in the National Parks and
National Forests).”
• “The thesis students asked if the
department could create a cohort
progression for them.”
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University of North Texas stresses multiple client interactions
over the course of its applied program
• The professor “set up a project before
the class even started. So they sort of
used their connections in the
community or wherever.”
Professor
• “Half of the required classes had a
client attached to them and almost all
of the electives had them.”
Project experiences
involving clients
Students
Client
• “Each advisor connects each student
(to some practicum experience).”
• For the practicum, the students “have a
formal agreement (with the client).
There is a three-way between the
student, the professor, and the (client).”
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Suggestions for potential CoPAPIA initiatives
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There are many potential sources of applied program
enrichment
Professor knowledge,
mentoring, and
networks
Community
organization,
firm, and
government
agency
relationship
with program
Alumni
involvement in
program culture
Program’s
linkages with
other university
departments and
institutes and
colleges
Applied
Program
Program’s
linkages with
professional
associations
Student commitment,
entrepreneurial spirit,
and peer learning
Funding
On-line networks
and discussion
boards
Adjunct
involvement in
program culture
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Most student/recent graduate ideas for a CoPAPIA initiative
focused on access to practitioners – whether in person or virtually
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Practitioners taking
about “real-time
experiences”
“At the (anthropology) meetings, if they had sessions
where people talk (about things like) ‘Here's how you get
to this job,’ ‘Here are some real-time experiences,’ ‘Here's
what to expect when you go out there’… In school…you
could also bring in guests who could speak, or who could
give an inspirational talk…Webinars would be great.”
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Mentoring
“…in terms of the mentoring experience, for me personally
I would think, e-mailing, talking, maybe eventually meeting
up at a conference. You know, going out for dinner … I see it
as more a long-term relationship building.”
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On-line networked
communities
“Having a more active on-line community…to learn about
professional opportunities…For example, students who are
looking for internships right now for the coming summer
could really benefit from that.”
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Database of
applied graduates
“Another idea is that it's hard to track folks after they leave
the program. Maybe the AAA could create a database on
applied graduates.”
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Some student/recent graduate ideas emphasized the
acquisition of applied skills and knowledge
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Applied skills
“How do you sell yourself in terms of the skills that you
have? That’s lacking…But I also think…highlighting more on
the website…what are the…specific skills that you…need…”
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Sharing innovative
methods across
departments
“Try to encourage students to innovate in research
methods. Try to think about how to address problems
from a methodological way, in an innovative way, not
necessarily picking up on what’s already out there. I think
all of our projects would get better results that way.”
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Applied sessions
“I think having more (AAA) sessions that are relevant to
the applied field…You flip through the book and last year
there were only maybe 2 or 3 sessions that were really
applicable.”
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One other student/recent graduate idea focused on access to
more employers at the AAA Meetings
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Expansion of AAA
Employer Expo
“I think the job fair (AAA Employer Expo) is key…We need
to get more relevant companies represented there.
Because I think (there are)…a lot of companies who want
to hire anthropologists and would like to have a presence
at the AAA but don’t (because they) probably don’t know
about it.”
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Faculty ideas for a CoPAPIA initiative can be grouped into four
categories, one of which is developing an applied program
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Kit for
applied
programs
“What I think is needed is a kit, or a white paper… The introduction
could include the demographics of the field, the kinds of settings in
which applied anthropologist work, the career development area
generally. Then if you are evaluating your current curriculum, (the
kit might suggest): ‘Here are some key issues to think about. Here
are some best practices. Here are sample syllabi. Here's why it's
important to build a strong alumni network.’ With us now, it's
happenstance. But (the kit could suggest): ‘Here is what people do
to have a strong alumni network.’ And then there might be a
section from the vantage point of the employer or the skills that
they are looking for. And it could be modular. (Another thought is)
‘Here is what departments could do on their own as a self study. ‘”
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Program
models
“…models in terms of the curriculum to prepare students for both
traditional and applied work [and] models for internship programs
and how they operate.”
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Tools
“We need more tools to show the relevance (of applied anthro.).”
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Consulting
services
“CoPAPIA could have a set of experts providing consulting to
strengthen what the departments are doing.”
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Advocacy of applied programs and access to employers were
two other faculty ideas
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Advocacy
“The AAA has the power to bolster applied programs. They can
act as the advocacy or policy arm for federal funding for
universities offering applied anthropology training…We need
the AAA to help sell applied anthropology to the wider
community and to our administrators who are not
anthropologists.”
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Employer
information
“A list of job placement sites for applied anthropology, tips on
what those organizations are looking for such as ‘You must
have a Ph.D.,’ or ‘Our focus is on environmental issues,’ or the
anthropologists placed there and who they would hire.”
“Maybe CoPAPIA could have more events that are internshipbased? Maybe they could share their opportunities for
internships and apprenticeships?”
“I guess one thing that our students always need is networking
and informational interviews and practicum placements.”
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The remaining faculty ideas for a CoPAPIA initiative emphasize
access to practitioners
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Practitioner network “If we had a network of applied anthropologists to ask
questions to, or even a set of frequently asked questions,
that would be very useful.”
“Maybe there could be an on-line network where students
could contact individuals (anthropologists). This is where
we are weakest.”
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Practitioner bios
“If there are little bios of people (practitioners) who are
out there, the students could learn who are they, how
they got there, and the relevance of what they're doing.”
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Networking events
at meetings
“Put on networking events at the national (anthropology)
meetings.”
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Speakers’ bureau
“A speakers’ bureau. It would be helpful to have a set of
visiting professionals who would be available to come to
campuses.”
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Two potential areas for a CoPAPIA initiative are shared by the
interviewees: access to practitioners and access to employers
Applied skills
and knowledge
Access to
practitioners
Access to
employers
Student/recent graduates
Strategies for
developing
applied
programs
AAA advocacy
of applied
programs
Faculty
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Next Steps
• Discuss the array of interviewee ideas for a CoPAPIA initiative
• Identify an option that could strengthen applied programs, taking into
account factors such as
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Timeframe to develop a successful initiative
Required material resources
CoPAPIA members’ interest
CoPAPIA members’ time and energy
Interest and input from applied programs to partner with CoPAPIA
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