What We Offer
VH@Duke Internship Program
Secure a competitive, paid semester-long or summer internship that will give you new perspective on research interests, or enable you to explore a potential career avenue.
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Doctoral Innovation Grants
Collaborate with your department’s leadership to secure special grants to enhance academic training in your areas of focus.
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Customized, One-on-One Advising
Reach out to Dr. Maria LaMonaca Wisdom, Director for Graduate Student Advising, for support in navigating academic and professional trajectories.
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Collaborative Research
Find teams, partners and resources for your scholarly pursuits, including Bass Connections, Story+, writing support and research funding.
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Professional Development
Learn about key resources at Duke and beyond that can help you cultivate versatility and launch your career.
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Insight, Advice & Stories
See the VH@Duke blog for perspectives from the community of versatile humanists at Duke.
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Mentors and Networks
Connect with Duke alumni, current students, faculty, and others to support your academic and professional growth.
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About VH@Duke
Versatile Humanists at Duke (VH@Duke) is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Duke Graduate School, and the Duke Provost’s Office. Our mission is to prepare Duke graduate students to make a difference in their careers as humanists, whether inside or outside the academy. Our offerings are geared to help future Ph.D.s in the humanities and humanistic social sciences flourish—in higher education, government, business, the non-profit sector, or wherever their talents and inclinations might lead.
We believe that versatility is just as vital for successful careers within academia as beyond it. The many challenges now confronting higher education compel today’s faculty members and administrators to work in teams, span boundaries, navigate diverse work cultures, and cultivate the habits of effective leadership.
Blog
Assembling Your Search Party: Academic Jobs (Part I)
Which texts (beyond The Professor Is In) and people should you consult when you are preparing your academic job search materials?
Learning the Art of Storytelling through Exhibit Curation
Working on an exhibit about Durham in World War I helped one VH@Duke intern hone her skills for disseminating history to a broader audience.
False Starts, Real Stories, and New Possibilities
A Ph.D. candidate in Romance Studies shares what he encountered during his Versatile Humanists at Duke Internship in Bologna.
Crafting an Academic Elevator Speech
In which we discuss sausage, spaghetti, and (most importantly) how to articulate your emerging scholarly identity.
Infusing Archival Research into the Undergraduate Classroom: What, How and Why
A recent Duke musicology Ph.D. shares insights from a Summer Doctoral Academy workshop on teaching with archival material.
Surviving the Conference Mixer: No Bull about It
Does the thought of networking at the next academic conference give you sweaty palms? Here are 8 tips that might help.
Navigating “Postdoc Purgatory” (and Helping to Save the Humanities)
Scott Muir (Ph.D. ’18 Religion) reflects on the rewards and challenges of an unexpected postdoctoral stint as a researcher for the National Humanities Alliance.
Duke Humanities Ph.D. Alumni, beyond the Academy
What do Duke humanities Ph.D.s who don’t pursue academic jobs end up doing? Who are they and can I speak with some?
Graduate School: the First Semester
Now that orientation week is over, what should PhD students in the humanities prioritize between now and December?
Start at Your Core: A Note to New Humanities Ph.D. Students
Before you get engrossed in your doctoral pursuits, take stock of why you are doing this and what really matters to you.