The academic job search portfolio contains additional documents you may need for the initial application as well as ones you would want take to an interview. Besides a cover letter and curriculum vitae, a teaching philosophy and a research statement are the most commonly requested documents in an academic application.

While cover letters and vitae should be specifically tailored to the particular position, many of these documents can be written beforehand and "tweaked" to fully accommodate particular positions and institutions. Below is an organizational template for items you might want to include.

• Cover with name and contact information
• Table of Contents
• Cover Letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Statement of Teaching Philosophy
• Research statement (frequently required at research and comprehensive institutions, also at top-tier liberal arts colleges)
• Diversity statement (if the job posting specifically states issues of a diverse student population, this is a good document to have)
• Awards and Certificates
• Documentation of Your Scholarship/Publications

You should also include documentation of teaching experience. Such documentation typically includes:

• Areas of teaching expertise
• Courses you are prepared to teach
• Professional development in teaching and learning
• Experience with materials relating to international and domestic diversity
• Classroom, advising and technology teaching skills
• Sample syllabi
• Sample course assignments
• Sample student assessments
• Student evaluation of teaching

For more information on portfolio development, see the Portfolio section on the Online Resources page.

The Teaching Philosophy

A teaching philosophy statement is not only a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching; it is also a statement about how you put your beliefs into practice by discussing concrete examples of what you do (or anticipate doing) in the classroom.

It may be a difficult statement to write. Begin by jotting down ideas about who you are as a teacher. Consider overall beliefs you have about teaching and learning. Connect these beliefs with concrete actions you have taken or expect to take in developing, teaching and assessing a classroom course. Collect examples of your actions along with your sense of student response. Organize your thinking into an outline of ideas and examples. Consider the audience for whom you will write the statement. Do they want to know how you will teach in a large or small class, develop opportunities to teach research, understand the mission of a teaching college or handle a diverse and or adult student population?

Start by writing an initial draft. Show it to a colleague for feedback. Put the draft away for a few days and begin the whole process again. It may take days, weeks, or months to be satisfied with your statement, but keep in mind that your teaching philosophy is always a document in progress. As your teaching changes and your professional identity grows, your philosophy will also change and grow. So revisit and revise it periodically as your beliefs and experiences progress and change.

When developing your teaching philosophy, consider the following questions:

• What do you fundamentally believe about how people learn?
• What do you think "good teaching" (i.e., teaching that promotes learning) is?
• What resonates with your experience as a student?
• If you have taught, what resonates with your experience as a teacher?
• How do these connect to your basic beliefs about learning?
• How does what you believe about good teaching enhance, resonate with, or flow from the basic content, theory and skills required for learning in your discipline?
• What does good teaching look like in practice? (i.e., what do you do in and out of the classroom to make it happen?)
• How would your students describe your teaching?
• How do you assess student learning?
• How do you assess your teaching effectiveness?
• How have you modified your teaching in response to student feedback?
• How do you put your philosophy of teaching into practice?
• What metaphor would best describe your teaching?

Also consider, the interplay among your personal beliefs about teaching and learning; the ideas about teaching practices and student learning in your discipline; and how you (generally) put your philosophies into practice.

For more on Teaching Philosophies, see the teaching philosophies section of the Online Resources page.

Drafting a Research Statement

For those who are interested primarily in faculty or administrative careers at research institutions or comprehensive universities, a research statement is an essential component of one's job search portfolio. However, many top-tier liberal arts colleges are also looking for research statements—especially ones that state how undergraduates can be involved in your research, or, if you are on an administrative track, how evaluation of programs, systems and departments should be undertaken.

A research statement consists of a 1-2 page description summarizing one's research interests and experience, including your current and future research goals. A research statement is increasingly important to job search committees as they seek the most appropriate candidate to complement and enhance (not repeat or confound) their current and future research endeavors. Like your CV and cover letter, a research statement should be tailored to be institutionally and departmentally specific. Depending on the audience, you may want to highlight how you would run a research lab, handle grant writing or work within a small budget, supervise RAs, use undergrads in your research, or do classroom and teaching research.

Some questions to consider when creating your research statement include:

• What are the essential elements of your research philosophy, methodology, topic areas? (What must be included?)
• What is the role the students would play in your research?
• How much emphasis does the institution place on the research plan, compared to the other parts of the application (CV, letters of recommendation, teaching statement, etc.)?
• Tailor your statement to the kind of institution to which you are applying (financial, institutional, regional, resources, mission, etc.)
• Acknowledge the facilities available locally and regionally. Describe potential collaboration with colleagues at the institution or possibly with another institution (say a Research I institution when the applicant will be working at comprehensive university)
• How can you design a statement that indicates your skills to do individual research, that designates a niche not be scooped by others, and that is not a clone of your Ph.D. or post-doctoral mentor's work?
• What are your budget needs, external sources for support?
• What is a realistic understanding of the time graduates/undergraduates could spend on a project leading to meaningful and publishable results?
• Once you have a draft, show it to a colleague or advisor and get feedback on the clarity of your ideas and the depth and breadth of the discussion.

For further information and examples, see the research statements section of the Online Resources page.