Preparing Future Faculty Program

The Preparing Future Faculty Program at VCU offers a series of short courses and professional development opportunities for graduate students interested in pursuing careers in higher education.

The series is modeled on the national Preparing Future Faculty Program created by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. It introduces graduate students to the roles and responsibilities of higher education and addresses teaching and learning issues in the college classroom.

About the program

The program offers access to resources and activities while providing networking opportunities with students and faculty from a wide range of disciplines, as well as discipline-specific areas of study.

Since most courses are one or two credits, students are able to easily add them into their academic program schedules. For students who complete all course requirements, the capstone course is an internship/externship experience during which the student is mentored by a senior faculty member.

PFF courses may be taken individually or as part of the Preparing Future Faculty in the Professions certification module, which places special emphasis on preparing faculty for positions in professional schools.

PFF program completion sequence

In order to complete the PFF Program, students must successfully complete the PFF Program course work:

  • GRAD 601
  • GRAD 602
  • OVPR 603
  • GRAD 604*
  • GRAD 606
  • Submit the GRAD 606 electronic portfolio for evaluation

*GRAD 610 may be utilized to satisfy this requirement with the approval of the PFFP Office. 

See course descriptions

Upon completion of these requirements, a text comment will be recorded on the student’s academic transcript to read: “Preparing Future Faculty Program completed [date].”

Students and their faculty mentors will be recognized for this accomplishment at a Graduate School event, usually held in the spring semester.

Registration and enrollment

Links of interest