Postdoctoral Program

The Department of History is proudto host an innovative, competitive post-doctoral fellowship program, where fellows develop career-building skills through dedicated time for teaching, research, writing, and directing the department’s ambitious Writing in History initiative. A call for applications will be announced every year in Spring.

Writing in History program

Launched in 2015, the Writing in History program is a dynamic, hands-on initiative that supports and advances the History Department’s undergraduate, graduate, and faculty community. The Writing in History program is composed of three pillars: 

  • An inclusive team of writing tutors who assist undergraduate students in honing their critical writing skills. The fellows and writing tutors work synergistically with other departments at FIU as part of the Writing Across the Curriculum initiative on campus, particularly with the Center for Excellence in Writing.
  • Hands-on workshops designed to improve undergraduates’ writing, critical thinking, and reading skills; aid students’ transition to post BA careers or graduate school; and to foster the faculty’s ability to teach historical writing using best practices in the field. 
  • Fostering digital literacy through various initiatives, including collaborating with departmental faculty who specialize in digital methods and online teaching, promoting critical approaches to digitized scholarship and state-of-the-art technologies in the classroom. 

Digital and Online program

Digital history refers to historians’ engagement with digital technology and the use of technology to represent historical findings. Our faculty encourage students to explore how technology can help them produce innovative research and present their findings in a digital format. Watch this video to learn about FIU faculty and student digital projects, and some of the ways digital history may be useful to you:  

Moreover, when needed the postdoctoral fellows liaison with faculty who specialize in digital history and online teaching, promoting critical approaches to digitized scholarship and state-of-the-art technologies in the classroom

Applications

Call for competitive applications occur every Spring. 

The two Writing in History Post-Doctoral Fellow positions may be renewed by past FIU PhDs, depending on the pool, for no more than two years. Fellows will receive $38,000 for the academic year plus benefits (amount changes every application cycle). The fellows must have the completed PhD in hand before the start of the Fall semester. 

How to submit:

The deadline for the receipt of applications for these fellowships will be 5 pm, April 1 for every year. 

To be considered, please send the Graduate Secretary (delpinol@fiu.edu) the following: 

  1. A cover letter, no longer than one page in length, that addresses your suitability for the position, details your professional activities, and plans for your future research/teaching objectives. Excellent candidates will relate those activities and objectives to their future work as a fellow. 
  2. A complete syllabus that demonstrates some of your ideas for teaching writing and researching in History for an undergraduate course (see our Postdoctoral Writing in History Program for more). [insert link to Postdoctoral Program webpage.] 

 All questions about the duties and expectations of the fellows should be addressed to the Department Chair, Bianca Premo (premob@fiu.edu). 

Duties and expectations

In addition to performing their general duties as course instructors and advancing on research and publications, the postdoctoral fellows also coordinate the Writing in History’s Tutoring, Workshop, Digital Activities, and Scholarship/Writing Competition programs. 

  • General Duties
    • Design and teach, as the instructor of record,a combination of lower-division and upper-division undergraduate classes on a variety of historical topics that all emphasize historical writing and research. Course load is 1-2 for first years and 2-2 if contract is renewed. 
    • Produce peer-reviewed research on both cutting-edge pedagogical practices and in the fellow’s specific field of expertise. 
    • Tutor and mentor undergraduate and early-stage graduatestudents. 
    • Lead semesterly writing workshops.
    • Write grants for digital projects in conjunction with FIU’s on-campus programs and initiatives.  
    • Foster a pedagogical support network with faculty and other fellows to vet syllabi, share best classroom practices, and coordinate department events. 
    • Enhance the program and Department with new training on how to conduct research and write history using 21st-century digital technologiesin conjunctionwiththe Department Chair, Associate Chair, the Undergraduate and Graduate Program Directors, and other members of the faculty. 
  • Tutoring Program
    • Coordinate and direct the Writing in History Tutors. 
    • Mentorboth undergraduate and graduate students in better writing practices. 
    • Promote tutoring resources among graduate students and faculty. 
  • Workshops and Programming
    • Organize and lead hands-on writing workshopsfor undergraduate students during every academic semester.  
    • Develop a Faculty Workshop (roundtable) every year that advances better pedagogical practices. 
    • Engage with and produce materials and activities for student recruitment activities with department recruitment coordinator. 
  • Digital Activities Program
    • Update and monitor the Department’s published digital materials aimed at enhancing students’writing and all other postdoctoral information on the website. 
    • Evaluate,withthe Undergraduate Committee,the SACS-related written assignmentscompleted in core courses. 
    • Aid in the coordination of the Department’s digital efforts. 
  • Scholarship/Writing Competition Program
    • Facilitate annual writing contests to recognize the best papers submitted in lower division classes, junior, and senior seminars. 
    • Preside over the call for applications for the annual in-house graduate research fellowship(s)competition.