Course Career Advice for Historians and Classists

Course title: Career Advice for Historians and Classists

Course description

Being a PhD student can often feel like it’s all about writing a strong thesis. And of course, you do need to write a thesis, and it has to be good. But unfortunately, that is not enough on its own. As in all other forms of education, there is a hidden curriculum.

Planning a career in academia means developing a broad set of skills beyond your research. You need to build an international network, attend conferences, engage in outreach, and create a CV that shows you are a valuable future colleague: someone who can teach, take initiative, handle administrative tasks, and contribute to academic communities/departments.

If you do not aim for an academic career, it is equally important to think about how to translate the many transferable skills you gain during your PhD into competencies that are sought after in other sectors. Framing your abilities clearly and strategically can open pathways to a wide range of careers beyond the university.

Lastly, we’ll talk about how to do all of these things while maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

Aim/Learning outcomes

In this course you will learn:

• How to plan your career by building a CV that will be attractive to hiring committees and funding bodies in Denmark and internationally (with a focus on Europe and North America)
• How to read academic and none-academic job adverts and understand the differences between the two
• Get an overview of grants available to non-tenured academics in Europe (e.g. programmes at the European University Institute, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions; ERC Strating Grants, the Carlsberg foundation’s Internationalisations stipends, etc.)
• How to build and maintain an international network
• How to build a strong and attractive publishing record (including how to write book proposals)
• How to translate academic skills into competencies sought after in other sectors
• The key skills needed for crafting good job and grant applications

Requirements for participation

None

Target group/Participants

• PhD students in history, classics and adjacent fields

Workload

• Course/ teaching hours: 3x 4hrs (three Tuesday afternoons in June 2026)
• Preparation hours: 13 hrs
• Written assignments etc.: none

Language 

• English (the first two classes will be in English, the last one, on the jobmarket in Denmark beyond academia will be in Danish)

Lecturers

• Helle Strandgaard Jensen, Aarhus University.
• Guest lectures TBD (with history PhDs but careers outside academia)

Literature

Participants need to buy and read “The Professor is In” by Karen Kelsky and read excerpts from “Leaving Academia: A Practical Guide” by Christopher L. Caterine

Venue

• 2 June 2026. 12.00-16.00. Jens Chr. Skous Vej 7 , 8000 Aarhus C. Building 1465, room 120
• 9 June 2026. 12.00-16.00. Jens Chr. Skous Vej 7 , 8000 Aarhus C. Building 1465, room 120
• 16 June 2026. 12.00-16.00. Jens Chr. Skous Vej 7 , 8000 Aarhus C. Building 1465, room 120

Course dates:

• 02 June 2026 12:00 - 16:00
• 09 June 2026 12:00 - 16:00
• 16 June 2026 12:00 - 16:00