Presentation given by Dr. Flores and several successful UTEP doctoral graduates focused on graduating on time, building a strong CV and finding an academic job.

1. TIMELINES TO GRADUATION
DR. BENJAMIN C. FLORES
INTERIM DEAN OF THE GRADUATE
SCHOOL

2. There are timelines and then…

3. Plan Ahead

4. Checklist for
UTEP Master’s Students
 Maintain active student status by registering for courses
every fall and spring semester
 Complete all required organized coursework and submit
degree plan
 Thesis Option
 Select the Chair and members of your thesis committee
 Apply for institutional research protocol approval
 Enroll in required thesis hours and complete your thesis research
 Successfully complete your defense of your thesis
 Non-Thesis Option
 Complete capstone (project report, scholarly paper, portfolio)
requirements
 Submit required documentation to the Graduate School for
completion and graduation

5. Checklist for
UTEP Doctoral Students
 Maintain active student status by registering for courses every fall and
spring semester
 Submit your signed Milestones Agreement Form to your advisor before
the end of your first year
 Schedule and successfully complete required qualifying exams
 Complete all required organized coursework
 Submit your degree plan
 Select the Chair and members of your dissertation committee
 Apply for and secure institutional research protocol approval
 Prepare and successfully present your dissertation proposal
 Apply for advancement to candidacy
 Enroll in required dissertation hours and complete your dissertation
 Successfully complete the defense of your dissertation
 Submit required documentation to the Graduate School for completion
and graduation

6. RESEARCH
 Transitioning from
“accumulation of knowledge” to
“creation of knowledge”
 The ethics of “access to
information”
 Protect
research subjects
 Research protocol approval
 IRB
 IACUC (animal care and use)

7. PUENTES PROGRAM
 Promoting Post baccalaureate opportunities
 Doctoral Writing Tutoring
 Excellence in Mentoring Lecture Series
 Mentoring/Research Planning Workshops
 Advising System
http://puentes.utep.edu

8. Professional Enhancement
Program
 Will  Other Key Activities
continue/expand: for Next Year?
 Doctoral Writing
Tutoring
 Excellence in
Mentoring Lecture
Series
 Mentoring/Research
Planning Workshops
 CV

9. Preparing your CV
 Your Curriculum Vita is not  Research/Scholarship
a Resume
 Publications (Publish and
 Degrees
Flourish)
 Doctoral
 Master’s
 External Funding
 Baccalaureate  Conferences
 Appointments  Service
 Accomplishments  External
 Research/Scholarship  Institutional
 Teaching
 Discipline specific
 Service
 Teaching  Other
 Courses  Continuous Development
 Publications  Professional Membership
 Honors

10. CV/Academic Job EXPERT
PANEL
 Marianna Hendricks, MA
 Dr. Holly Mata
 Dr. Todd Ruecker
 Dr. Lucia Dura
 Dr. David Roberson
 Dr. Berenice Verdin

11. Job Materials
 CV and cover letter/letter of technology skills
transmittal in response to the  sample syllabi, assignments,
initial job ad assessments, student
 A dossier of materials which evaluations
may include:  dissertation abstract
 teaching philosophy  writing sample
 documentation of teaching  research statement (especially
experience in top-tier schools)
 descriptions of courses taught  diversity statement (especially
 courses you are prepared to if the institution is committed to
teach diversity)
 experience with international  awards and certificates
and domestic diversity  transcripts (only send official if
 professional development in they are specifically requested)
teaching and learning  references

12. Marianna’s CV Building Tips
 1. A CV is not a résumé. While a résumé generally portrays you as
a skill-set, a CV traces your education and research path. Still,
both are directed toward selling you clearly and concisely as a
high-quality researcher, teacher, and job candidate.
 2. Create a simple, consistent, and visually clear design so that
readers can comprehend the information more easily.
 3. Have a template CV that includes everything that you
continuously update, and create a tailored/targeted CV for each
position you apply to. A CV sent to a research-intensive institution
would be ordered differently from a teaching-centered one, so
structure each one carefully.
 4. Get a successful peer or a mentor to look at your CV in
connection with your notes, the job ad, or the department’s job
description so that they can provide feedback.

13. Dr. Mata’s Top 7
 1. Collaborate with a lot of people from a lot of disciplines -
you'll learn the ways in which you can contribute, you'll be
exposed to new ideas, and you'll see things from diverse
perspectives
 2. Seek out diverse role models and mentors - you'll learn
different things from different people
 3. Always pay it forward - make time and take time to mentor
others
 4. Apply, apply apply! Submit, submit, submit! Apply for
scholarships, grants & travel funding; submit your work for
presentation & publication

14. Dr. Mata’s Top 7 (cont.)
 5. Participate in research groups and writing groups and
attend on-campus forums, lectures, brown bags - the Grad
School, ORSP, HHDRC, departments offer great stuff!
 6. Disseminate creatively! helps build your CV and gives you
more venues - many journals have "Lessons Learned",
"Commentary" venues in addition to research articles
 7. Do what you love, love what you do - if you don't, change
your attitude or change your job!

15. Dr. Ruecker’s Top 5
 1. Maintain a CV from day one in graduate studies, looking at
samples from successful graduates and identifying areas
where you are doing well and need to develop your own CV.
 2. Read as much as you can in your field beyond anything
required for classes in order to identify gaps that you can fill
with your own work while better understanding how
knowledge is produced and disseminated.
 3. Actively publish as a graduate student, starting sooner than
later.
 4. Network with students and faculty from a variety of
institutions, forming conference panels with them, soliciting
their advice on your writing, and working with them on
research projects.
 5. Be confident in yourself and your work when engaging in

16. Dr. Dura’s Top 10
 1. Practice talking about my work in a relevant way (on an
airplane, in an elevator, to an auditorium full of people, on the
phone, on Skype).
 2. Cultivate relationships and collegial habits (being present
in the moment, writing thank you notes, celebrating others'
successes, networking at conferences).
 3. Look for synergy: don't do anything you can't write about
and write about everything you do.
 4. Work for the greater good: do what I do best and let others
do the rest.
 5. Get with a mentor (or mentors) or two whom I could work
with on a win-win basis.

17. Dr. Dura’s Top 10 (cont.)
 6. Realize that insecurities are a time drain and invest some
time in building self-confidence (every day).
 7. Cast a wide net and remind myself that this is not likely to
be the last job I'll have: top tier, art schools, post-docs, other
academic jobs.
 8. Make mistakes and learn self-compassion. Still making
them.
 9. Learn self-compassion: I am a work in progress. Will
always be.
 10. Took a mentor's advice: if it isn't fun, don't do it.

18. Dr. Roberson’s Top 5
 1. Attend conferences, this is a good way to meet people and
build relationships with your colleagues. In some cases you
can learn more about your field in a weekend conference
than weeks of literature searching.
 2. Publish. Publications are what validates your research in
your field. It is also a good way to learn to handle rejection.
 3. Never be afraid of the unknown.
 4. Learn from failures.
 5. Do not become too consumed by your research, especially
if you have a family.

19. Dr. Verdin’s Top 6
 1. Learn how to manage your time. Find the balance between
school, work and other activities.
 2. Find the right advisor. An advisor will serve as a mentor as
well as a source for technical assistance.
 3. Take responsibility for your project. If you just follow
directions you will never progress in research.
 4. Become part of the Research Community. You can do this
by attending conferences, publishing research results,
collaborating on joint publications, introducing you to
colleagues, and promoting your work.
 5. Focus on your ultimate goal and try to enjoy while you are
in the process of graduating.
 6. You should be going to school because you
want to, not because you have to.