Humanities scholars come from a wide array of backgrounds and embark on a variety of careers in areas like libraries, museums, archives, higher education and humanities administration, publishing, research and technology, and more. To learn more about these varied career paths, in 2013 the Scholarly Communication Institute conducted a study on career preparation in humanities graduate programs. The study included two confidential surveys: one for people on alternative academic career paths (that is, people with graduate training in the humanities and allied fields working beyond the professoriate); and another for their employers. The report, data, and ancillary materials are available at the links below.

• Read the report, executive summary, and shareable slides
• View and work with data from the main survey
• View and work with data from the employer survey
• Read this presentation, which includes highlights from the survey results

SCI anticipates that data collected during the study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the diversity of career paths we pursue after our graduate studies, while also highlighting opportunities to better prepare students for a range of careers beyond the tenure track.

The study complements the public database that we created as a way to clarify the breadth of the field, and to foster community among a diverse group. Though the surveys are closed, the database remains open to new entries. If your work represents the diversity of the broad #alt-ac community, tell us about yourself!

• Add your information to the database
• View the database report

The study and database were administered by Katina Rogers as part of SCI’s final phase of work—which included a close concentration on graduate education reform (largely in the North American context) and on the preparation of future knowledge workers, educators, and cultural heritage and scholarly communications professionals.

The survey results are part of ongoing efforts to make curriculum recommendations so that graduate programs may better serve future students. Please contact Katina if you’d like to know more.