By Carl Straumsheim. Doomsayers about the job market for humanities Ph.D.s are everywhere. In response to a growing number of graduates unable to find a job in academe, seven universities are starting a new project to prepare students for a career that may lead them out of the classroom or into new kinds of classrooms. The initiative, known as the Praxis Network, will showcase how different institutions are using innovative approaches to expand humanities education to help other colleges and universities do the same. Of the seven institutions participating, Duke University, for example, offers a one-year program for Ph.D. students to help them develop digital skills. University College London is combining humanities and computer science in a master's degree program that involves both thesis writing and work placement. The City University of New York Graduate Center has doctoral fellows working with the provost to design a new website and serving as technical consultants for faculty members. Read more...

By Elizabeth Redden. Faculty and administrators discussed strategies for internationalizing professional programs at a best practices conference sponsored by the Institute of International Education. Speakers at a Thursday afternoon panel represented programs in air traffic control, oral health and nursing, all of which had received IIE Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education.
"Really, the cards are stacked against internationalization,” Mark Lazar, IIE’s vice president of global scholarship and learning programs, said in reflecting on the difficulties facing professional programs in particular. “They’re very detailed programs with very tight requirements. Credit transfer is an issue; accreditation is an issue. They’re programs with a need for practicum experiences and they are programs that are heavily government-regulated or monitored.” Read more...