The Council on Contemporary Families (CCF) seeks applicants for the 2024 Frank F. Furstenberg Early Career Scholars Program. The Early Career Scholars Program offers a unique professional development and mentorship opportunity to early-career scholars conducting research on American families. The program offers selected scholars mentorship from senior scholars who will provide them guidance and support to promote their research to journalists and the media.
Through participation in the CCF Early Career Scholars Program, early career scholars will attend a virtual summer-long program consisting of four professional development seminars and three one-on-one meetings with their mentors, including peer networking activities and training in public scholarship with other scholars. On October 18th, 2024, they will attend the CCF Public Scholarship Workshop at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) to present their research, meet their mentors in person, and receive further training, mentoring, and networking opportunities with board members, other scholars, and each other.
Each CCF Scholar will receive an allocation of $750 towards travel and a complimentary CCF membership for two years. Scholars will also work to produce a research brief, fact sheet, or blog post about their research that CCF will publish and disseminate to the media. These experiences will enable scholars to gain valuable skills to promote their research on American families to media outlets and allow them to interact not only with their selected mentors but also with other scholars and professionals.
Eligibility
- Ph.D. completed by May 2024.
- Early career professional (i.e., doctoral degree granted within seven years or less, or current postdoc or assistant professor). Scholars from diverse disciplines are encouraged to apply. Current CCF members include demographers, economists, family therapists, historians, political scientists, psychologists, social workers, sociologists, communication scholars, as well as other family social scientists and practitioners.
- Research program is broadly consistent with the mission of CCF to enhance the national understanding of how and why contemporary American families are changing, what needs and challenges they face, and how these needs can best be met.
- Has a draft of an unpublished manuscript that addresses an important problem, process, or issue in the science or practice of American families. Data should be analyzed, and the manuscript should be in progress with plans to submit to a peer-reviewed journal.
To Apply
You must submit the following materials to the Council on Contemporary Families no later than March 31st, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. PST:
- A one-page cover letter detailing why you are interested in the program, your research interests and experience, and career goals.
- An abstract of the manuscript in progress, including methods, results, and key findings, that will be the focus on the training in the program.
- A curriculum vitae (CV).
Scholars will be selected in late April, and the program will begin at the end of May.
Questions? Please contact Dr. Joan Maya Mazelis at mazelis@camden.rutgers.edu.
