About PFFP

The Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals (PFFP) program is designed to support your academic and professional growth, and provide a solid foundation for your post-graduate pursuits. Successfully completing the PFFP program not only distinguishes your transcript from others, it equips you for post-graduate pursuits in unique ways.   

Sponsored by the Graduate School,  PFFP provides development opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and alumni. The aim of the program is to help prepare participants for a successful career in higher education and professional positions, with emphasis on developing skills to teach effectively and preparation to navigate the initial stages of an academic job search.


Getting started

Completing the first three steps below will get you started in PFFP:

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Step 1: Apply for PFFP

The PFPP lets us know who you are and some information about your academic career at Marquette. It is the first step getting started with PFFP. After you submit the application, you will be contacted by the PFFP Coordinator about your participation and you can start completing the Individual Development Plan.

PFFP Application

Step 2: Develop your individual development plan

A fundamental mission of Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals is to provide a trajectory for your pursuits after graduate school.  The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is an important tool in this mission. 

The IDP is designed to help you identify potential career pathways, assess your strengths and opportunities for development in light of those pathways, generate appropriate goals and identify resources for attaining those goals.

The Individual Development Plan is both a process and a product: by engaging in developing an IDP you will plan and create a plan.  To this end, you will find this document includes two parts:

Development planning process

  • Define your career goals
  • Identify necessary skills and knowledge
  • Assess your skills and knowledge
  • Develop professional development objectives
  • Track your development and set new goals

Revisit and update your plan throughout your graduate career to reflect the ways in which your experiences and growth inform your planning and lead to modifications to your plan.  Recognizing that IDP is an ongoing process and a living document, near then end of your participation in PFFP you will be required to reflect on your initial IDP, describing the milestones in your development, and the ways in which you modified your plan during the program.

PFFP development tools

Instructions, Resources and IDP worksheet 

PFFP IDP worksheet

Step 3: Develop a mentor plan

The Mentor Plan is designed to help you find a mentor and take initial steps developing relationship(s) with your mentor(s).  It is comprised of two parts: resources for finding and developing mentoring relationships and an initial mentor identification/development report.

Recommended Program Tracks

Although PFFP participants can choose any three concentrations in addition to the required Service & Mission concentration, the PFFP Program recommends three tracks based on your career aspirations:

  • Faculty 
  • Versatile Ph.D.
  • Professional

Designed for those intending to pursue traditional faculty positions.  Its required concentrations are focused on the three-pillars of the academy (teaching, scholarship and service).  These required concentrations are complemented by an elective concentration to allow participants to pursue individual goals and interests.


Faculty Track Concentrations

  • Required
  • Teaching , Scholarship, Service and Mission
  • Elective
  • Leadership, Professional Development, -preneurship, Career Development

Designed for doctoral students intending to pursue non-traditional academic careers (advising, fundraising, administration, etc.).  Its required career development concentration is intended to ensure those on this track examine and prepare for the wealth of options available beyond traditional academic careers.  This concentration is complemented by a focus on service and mission to augment the ways in which a Marquette education is differentiated from others.  In recognition of the many trajectories of this track, it includes two electives. 


Versatile Ph.D. Concentrations

  • Required
  • Career Development 
  • Service and Mission
Elective (choose one)
  • Teaching, Scholarship, Leadership or Professional Development
  • Teaching, Scholarship, Leadership, -preneurship or Professional Development 

Designed for those intending careers in the professions or industry.  To ensure those selecting this track have an opportunity to become versed in the career paths and professional skill sets associate with their fields, the career development concentration is required, along with the option of either professional development or -preneurship, depending on the student's goals.  To augment the ways in which a Marquette educations prepares those on this track for their future pursuits, the Service and Mission Track is also required.  An elective concentration is include to allow those in this track to pursue individual leadership or career goals.


Professional Concentrations

  • Required
  • Professional Development or -preneurship, Career Development, Service and Mission

Elective

Teaching, Scholarship, Leadership or required option not selected.

Concentration Overviews

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Teaching

Learning outcomes:

  • Examine foundational components of classroom instruction, including issues related to class administration and management, developing lectures, leading discussions, and developing assignments and assessments.
  • Produce documents and apply the skills necessary for teaching and promoting a functional classroom environment.
  • Reflect on one's personal approach and beliefs about teaching.
  • Develop skills for reflective practice and think critically about one's teaching and growing from it.

Teaching concentration requirements include:

  • Complete Department or Center for Teaching and Learning TA or Teaching Training Program/Workshops (including Department TA training, OIE TA training, CTL Online Facilitation Course, E-learning Certificate Series, Ignatian Pedagogy Course)
  • Develop a Philosophy of Teaching Statement
  • Develop an Example Syllabus
  • Develop Assessment Example w/ Representative Student Work
  • Participate in Teaching Observation & Feedback
  • Sign up with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)*

Scholarship

Learning outcomes:

  • Familiarize oneself with the process of obtaining funding appropriate to one's research/discipline.
  • Pursue publication and presentation opportunities appropriate to your research/discipline.
  • Articulate the place of your research in your field of study, including its trajectory.
  • Develop the skills necessary for conducting ethical research.

Scholarship concentration requirements include:

  • Write a Statement of Research
  • Begin developing a Repository of Your Scholarship (Google Scholar, Researchgate, Orcid, Biosketch)
  • Apply for Internal or External Funding (MU Summer Research, MU Innovation, Any Grant Outside MU)
  • Complete Responsible Conduct of Research Training (Zero-credit, no cost MU course)
  • Present Thesis/Research (MU Three-minute Thesis Competition, MU Dissertation Boot Camp Presentation, Any Discipline-specific Conference)
  • Submit a Paper for Publication in a Peer-reviewed Journal or Discipline-appropriate Alternative
  • Sign Up for sub-institutional membership with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)*

Service & Mission

Learning outcomes:

  • Uphold the values of Excellence, Faith, Leadership, and Service as articulated by Marquette's mission.
  • Reflect on the meaning of a Jesuit education in the context of your program, Marquette, and the community.
  • Participate in the decision-making processes of the university (shared governance).
  • Develop an awareness of social justice issues and one's place in regards to them.

Service & Mission concentration requirements include:

  • Sit on a Dept.- or University-level Committee (for at least one semester)
  • Complete One Service or Mission Project or Activity (numerous options from which to choose)

Professional Development

Learning outcomes:

  • Identify professional needs and skills gaps.
  • Pursue opportunities to address professional development needs and skills gaps.
  • Apply strengths and weaknesses to professional goals.

Professional Development concentration requirements include:

  • Develop a Statement of Professional Ethics
  • Develop an Advanced Professional Development Plan for Skills Outside of Other PFFP Concentrations (identify professional development needs specific to your career trajectory in light of your current skill set and at least six workshops to address them)
  • Attend Six Workshops (identified in Advanced Professional Development Plan)
  • Write a Workshop Reflection (written after attending the six workshops identified on your Advanced Professional Development Plan)

-Preneurship

Learning outcomes:

  • Develop core skills required for entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, including collaboration, risk-taking, agility, and communication.
  • Present, evaluate, and develop your ideas with guidance from professionals.
  • Communicate and collaborate with professionals to advance your entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial development.
  • Utilize resources that will help you advance your ideas, but on- and off-campus.

-Preneurship concentration requirements include:

Leadership Development

Learning outcomes:

  • Examine what leadership means to you and the various ways in which you can enact it.
  • Identify one's strengths, weaknesses, and approaches when it comes to the concept of leadership.
  • Use one's leadership skills to make an impact in the Marquette community.
  • Apply leadership skills to one's professional goals.

Leadership concentration requirements include:

  • Interview an MU Leader
  • Develop a Leadership Statement
  • Complete One Recommended Leadership Project or Activity (numerous options from which to choose)

Career Development

Learning outcomes:

  • Engage in career search activities that target prospective employers and peer institutions consistent with your aspirations, values, and preferences.
  • Develop networking skills appropriate for your job search.
  • Identify the steps necessary to prepare for a job interview.

Career Development concentration requirements include:

  • Develop Career Search Plan with Career Counselor
  • Conduct Informational Interview
  • Develop LinkedIn Profile Plan
  • Develop a CV or Resume
  • Develop a Recommendation Request
  • Complete Job Interview Prep Plan, including Mock Interview