The transition from PhD student to academic staff member

The PhD degree is an apprenticeship where the PhD student develops some of the skills needed to move into a full-time academic position. PhD students get solid training in research methodology and are immersed in the discipline. Some get teaching experience; a few become involved in committee work. On the face of it, the transition from student to academic should be a natural and smooth blend into the university community. As experience often tells us, this is not necessarily the case.

As the PhD student makes the transition to full-time academic they move from being a member of a community of students to being part of a community of scholars where the individual often operates in relative privacy. Teaching tends to be seen as private in nature and each academic has his or her own research interests and agenda. This transition can be an isolating experience. Boice (1992), in a study of new academics, found that loneliness was the new academic's most salient complaint. Moving from the role of learner the new academic is now expected to be knower. There is the pressure to perform and to appear credible in front of their new colleagues and their students. As a student, they have responsibility to themselves. As an academic, there is a responsibility to colleagues and the institution. With the transition to academic there is a new language and set of practices to learn. It is more than just picking up some teaching tips and learning the procedure for accessing resources.

For this transition Boice (1992) suggests that new academics become immersed in the life of the university, becoming involved in activities that provide support such as getting to know students and colleagues, developing networks and establishing a feeling of membership of the institution. Boice also suggests the development of a regimen that emphasises moderation and efficiency in fulfilling the roles and activities of an academic, self-management with respect to time on task and problem solving, and the building of social networks.

How does your department help a new staff member become socialised to the role of an academic? Is there scope within the PhD to foster this socialisation process?

• Boice, R. (1992). The new faculty member: Supporting and fostering professional development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.