Apply to Preparing Future Faculty

Who Can Apply

The PFF program is open to currently enrolled PhD students at Duke who are in good standing in any department or program of study, and to postdoctoral appointees at Duke.

We expect PhD applicants to have completed all their course work and preliminary exams before participating in the program, and preference may be given to those enrolled in the Certificate in College Teaching program. We also choose a limited number of postdoctoral associates (job code 3820) or postdoctoral scholars (job code 2898).

Indicating a Preference for a PFF Institution and Faculty Mentor

The online PFF application will ask you to rank your top two partner institutions to indicate where you would like to have a PFF faculty mentor, as well as to identify any specific criteria that matter to you for choosing a mentor if you are selected as a PFF fellow. 

The Graduate School maintains a close relationship with faculty at our partner institutions through our PFF Advisory Board. New applicants SHOULD NOT contact any potential faculty mentors directly, but you are free to contact current or past fellows to learn more about the PFF program and their mentors. Once new PFF fellows are selected in July, we will provide them with more information about the process to select their faculty mentors. 

To Apply

Have the following two documents ready to upload in PDF format:

1. Your updated CV or résumé. Save the file as lastnameCV.pdf
2. Submit a brief written statement (2 page, 1000 word maximum, single spaced) of your interest in the PFF program. The document should be a pdf named lastnamePFFapp.pdf. It should include:

• Your field of study and research interests (1 brief paragraph)
• Your career goals, how PFF might help you achieve them
• Specific goals you envision if chosen as a PFF Fellow;
• Any preference for a type of host institution or department, and/or
• Any preference for a type of mentor (e.g., female, junior faculty, environmental science, administrator, etc.)

Please DO NOT contact potential mentors until you are chosen by the Graduate School as a PFF Fellow. We will guide those selected as PFF Fellows through that process with the help of our Advisory Board.