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. Earning a PFFP completion designation on your transcript signifies you have engaged in significant personal and professional development that distinguishes you from others who have earned graduate degrees. Successfully completing the PFFP program not only distinguishes your transcript from others, it equips you for post-graduate pursuits in unique ways. 

Learning Outcomes

In meeting the requirements of this program, you will:

• Explore possible post-graduate career paths and the skills and experience implicated in pursuing them
• Examine the professional skills that may complement post-graduate pursuits
• Identify a variety of potential funding sources appropriate to your research/discipline
• Examine the grant development and submission process
• Articulate your research background and qualifications to support the pursuit of grant funding
• Identify potential publication opportunities appropriate for your research/discipline
• Explore the process of developing and submitting scholarly writing for publication
• Develop a statement specifying the long-term research path you envision

Requirements

The requirements of the Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals program are designed to provide formative experiences through which each participant will develop a foundation for post-graduate pursuits. To earn the PFFP transcript notification, you must attend at least one Connect with PFFP meeting each academic year, and complete five program-wide deliverables, as well as the deliverables of the four concentrations specific to your selected track.

Program-wide Deliverables

• The PFFP Application
• Individual Development Plan (IDP)
• Mentor Plan
• Independent Development Plan Reflection
• Mentor Reflection

Additional Requirements

• Deliverables of the four concentrations specific to your selected track
• At least one Connect with PFFP meeting each academic year

General Deliverables

All PFFP participants must complete the following requirements, in addition to those specified for the concentrations of their selected track. Detailed instructions for each of these deliverables are provided in the PFFP Handbook.

The PFFP Application

The PFFP Application includes contact and program information, as well as information about your aspirations and interests. The Application signals your intent to engage in PFFP development.

An Individual Development Plan (IDP)

The Individual Development Plan is a tool to guide your participation in PFFP. It provides an initial blueprint for seeking PFFP developmental opportunities and a reference point for assessing your development as you complete the program. The IDP must be completed during your first semester of PFFP participation.

A Mentor Plan

The Mentor Plan is a vehicle for guiding your efforts to identify and connect with a mentor, as well as your subsequent mentor interactions.

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) Reflection

The Individual Development Plan Reflection is a self-assessment tool completed near the end of the program. It examines the skills and knowledge you developed through your participation in PFFP. In it, you will consider your initial goals for participating in PFFP, the ways in which you have met or have yet to meet those goals, and a trajectory for continued development once you have earned your degree. The IDP Reflection must be submitted after fulfilling all other PFFP requirements (save the Mentor Reflection).

A Mentor Reflection

The Mentor Reflection provides a lens near the end of the program for analyzing the mentoring guidance and direction from which you’ve benefited, and an opportunity for you to consider how your experiences being mentored might inform your future efforts mentoring others. The Mentor Reflection must be submitted after fulfilling all other PFFP requirements (save the IDP Reflection).