USC Dornsife PhD Academy

Ending the semester on a high note by celebrating our 2026 Ph.D. Academy Certificate awardees 🎉
With 29+ incredible certificate awardees recognized this year, it was so special to gather (both in person and in spirit) on April 30 to celebrate your hard work, leadership, and dedication.

As the semester comes to a close, we’re grateful for this community and all that you’ve contributed to the Ph.D. Academy. Loved catching up and celebrating with you all. Huge congrats to our awardees! 🎉

🎉 Ph.D. Academy Certificate Celebration 🎉

Join us as we celebrate our incredible graduate students who have earned the Dornsife Ph.D. Academy Certificate in Communication, Leadership & Management!

📅 April 30, 2026
⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 MCB 101 & Patio

Come enjoy an evening of recognition, community, and celebration. We look forward to honoring your achievements!

All Dornsife Ph.D. students and their guests are welcome to attend! Please be sure to register - link in bio!

🚨 Funding Opportunity for PhD Students! 🚨

The PhD Academy Scholarship and Research Fund is accepting applications until April 10!

Have a scholarship/research project, conference, or professional development opportunity you want to pursue? This award is designed to support your academic and career goals 💡Dornsife Ph.D. students who have attended a minimum of four events this academic year are eligible to apply.

💰 Receive funding to invest in your work
📅 Deadline: April 10
📝 Quick and easy application

This award is made possible through USC Dornsife USC Dornsife

ScholarshipResearchFund

Great conversations, new connections, and a strong PhD community! 🤝🎓

We had a great group at our Networking Strategies for YR 1 PhD Students event last night! First-year students came ready to connect, ask questions, and start building their academic networks.

A huge thank you to the senior PhD students who joined us and shared their experiences, advice, and encouragement — your support made the conversations even more meaningful.

We loved seeing the energy in the room and the many new connections being made. ✨

Networking doesn’t have to be intimidating.

Join us tomorrow for Networking Strategies for PhD Students and learn simple, practical ways to start building connections during your PhD!

✨ First-year students: come meet peers and learn strategies to get started
✨ Senior students: join as a mentor - we’d love to have you!

📅 Tomorrow | DML 240 | 5:00-6:30pm
🔗 Register through the link in our bio

Second- and third-year Ph.D. students joined us for “Assessing Your Skills and Applying Feedback,” where we discussed navigating advisor feedback, learning from challenges, and building stronger research and writing habits on the path toward greater research independence.

Thank you to our Ph.D. candidate panelists Caleb Rosen (ERTH), Elissa Watters (AHIS), Ellen Herschel (PSYC), and Jennifer Heine (ENGL) for sharing their candid insights and practical advice with our Ph.D. community!

Last chance to register for our upcoming event this Wednesday, March 4 on “Assessing Your Skills and Applying Feedback” for YR 2+3 Dornsife students. This interactive session led by senior Dornsife Ph.D. panelists is designed to help you take stock of your strengths and better understand how to use feedback strategically for growth.

Join us for this candid conversation - Link in bio!

On Feb. 25, we explored how to turn a Ph.D. into impact beyond the tenure track at Translating Your PhD for the Job Market. ✨

Huge thank you to our incredible PhD alumni panelists:
Zachary Mann, Associate Director of the USC Levan Institute for the Humanities;
Victoria Chonn Ching, Non-Resident Fellow at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council;
and CJ Koch, Scientist at Savannah River National Laboratory.

Thank you for your candor, insight, and encouragement! Our students in person and on Zoom walked away with clarity and confidence about translating their skills into meaningful careers. 👏

How do you translate your Ph.D. for today’s job market?

Join us on Feb. 25 for Translating Your Ph.D. for the Job Market and hear from Dornsife alumni on turning doctoral skills into impactful careers beyond the tenure track.

This event is designed for 4th YR + Dornsife PhD students. We hope you will join us!

DML 240/Zoom from 5:00-6:30pm

Great turnout at our Feb 11: Choosing Your Committee Members event last week! 🎓

We talked through practical strategies for identifying supportive faculty, confidently asking them to serve, and building strong committee relationships that align with your academic and professional goals. From navigating different advising styles to thinking ahead about research fit and career mentorship, it was a thoughtful and empowering conversation for our first-year Ph.D. students.

A special thank you to our wonderful panelists for sharing their time and insights:
Olivia Harrison – Professor of French and Italian, Comparative Literature, Middle East Studies, and American Studies & Ethnicity
Karen Lloyd – Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies and Professor of Earth Sciences
Darren Ruddell – Professor (Teaching) and Director of Graduate Studies, Spatial Sciences Institute

We’re so grateful for your thoughtful guidance and support of our Ph.D. community! 💛