{"id":16765,"date":"2026-03-18T07:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/?p=16765"},"modified":"2026-04-02T09:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:09:41","slug":"ciss-to-host-panel-discussion-non-academic-careers-for-social-scientists-insights-from-recent-phds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/2026\/03\/18\/ciss-to-host-panel-discussion-non-academic-careers-for-social-scientists-insights-from-recent-phds\/","title":{"rendered":"CISS to Host Panel Discussion \u201cNon-Academic Careers for Social Scientists: Insights from Recent PhDs\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

National data<\/a> show that one in four recent social science PhDs works in a non-academic setting, typically non-profits, governmental organizations, or industry. These positions enable social scientists to use the research, writing, analysis, and translational skills acquired during their graduate training. But how do PhD students find and successfully apply for non-academic positions? What are the pros and cons of working in academic versus non-academic settings?\u00a0 These and other questions will be answered at the upcoming CISS panel discussion \u201cNon-Academic Careers for Social Scientists: Insights from Recent PhDs<\/span>\u201d on Friday April 10, 2026 from 2:30-4:00 pm ET.<\/strong> The moderated discussion will feature recent Boston University social science PhDs who have successful and varied careers beyond academia.<\/p>\n

Register for the event.<\/a><\/p>\n

Featured speakers will include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Graham Albert<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nGRS\/Anthropology (PhD 2023)<\/td>\n<\/td>\nQuantitative Social Scientist, Acrisure<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gizem Kaftan<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nGRS\/Political Science (PhD 2025)<\/td>\n<\/td>\nAnalytics Leadership Development Program (ALDP), Manager, Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Paul Karner<\/a><\/td>\nGRS\/Economics (PhD 2012)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\n
\n

Partner and CEO at Horizon Data Partners<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Jeanna Kinnebrew<\/a><\/td>\nGRS\/History (PhD 2023)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\n
\n

Director, Annual Fund, American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Landon Lauder<\/a><\/td>\nGRS\/Sociology (PhD 2025)<\/td>\n<\/td>\nTrainer for Community Health Worker Learning & Development, Boston Public Health Commission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sara Machado<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a0GRS\/Economics (PhD 2016)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\n
Research Scientist at CHeSS – Center for Health System Sustainability, Brown University School of Public\u00a0Health<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robert Shimp<\/a><\/td>\nGRS\/History (PhD 2014\/2018)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\n
Director, Lakewood Historical Society<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

BU\u2019s Graduate and Post Doctoral Success (GPS)<\/span><\/a> office offers extensive resources for Ph.D. students interested in pursuing non-academic careers (see\u00a0<\/span>here<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for slides providing helpful job search strategies).\u00a0<\/span>PhD Progression<\/a>, their online micro-credentialing program, was designed to allow BU PhD students explore and develop skills in areas beyond the degree requirements. The\u00a0<\/span>Level 1<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Level 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Career Development Pathways may be of particular interest to social science PhDs seeking non-academic careers.<\/p>\n

To learn more tips, see advice from our alumni panelists<\/a> at a 2022 CISS non-academic careers panel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

National data show that one in four recent social science PhDs works in a non-academic setting, typically non-profits, governmental organizations, or industry. These positions enable social scientists to use the research, writing, analysis, and translational skills acquired during their graduate training. But how do PhD students find and successfully apply for non-academic positions? What are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22310,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16765"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16765"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16979,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16765\/revisions\/16979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}