Project NExT Fellows and friends at a Project NExT reception
Project NExT is a professional development program of
the MAA. Faculty in their first or
second year of full-time teaching at the college/university level
(after receiving the Ph.D.) are eligible to apply. Fellows must
attend the three meetings in their fellowship year. See the
information page on applications.
Also see
background information on Project NExT.
Index: [home]
[background]
[applications]
Most questions that applicants to Project NExT have are answered by this
FAQ. If you have a question that is not answered here, please ask one of
Christine Stevens, Director <stevensc(at)slu(dot)edu>; or
Aparna Higgins, Co-Director
<aparna(dot)higgins(at)notes(dot)udayton(dot)edu>. You
may also ask Gavin LaRose, <glarose(at)umich(dot)edu>,
the Project NExT Associate Co-Director who maintains these pages.
Answer:
Project NExT is designed for faculty for whom the Fellowship year will
be their first or second year of post-Ph.D. teaching. If you received
your Ph.D. in
December, 2006,
or later, then you are automatically
eligible to apply to Project NExT in
2008
(assuming that you meet the other eligibility criteria).
If you received your Ph.D. before
December, 2006,
then you might be eligible, but you might not. In determining
eligibility, we do not count:
If you received your Ph.D. before December, 2006, and you decide to apply to Project NExT, your application materials (vita or personal statement) must clearly explain why you are eligible.
Please note that these remarks apply only to the national Project NExT. Section NExTs are regional versions of Project NExT, and generally they have less stringent eligibility criteria.
Project NExT seeks to help new faculty to launch their careers. If you haven't yet received your Ph.D., then finishing your dissertation is the most important thing you can do, in order to have a successful academic career. Thus we expect the 2008-2009 Project NExT Fellows to have completed all the requirements for their Ph.D.s no later than September 1, 2008. If you don't expect to meet that deadline, then you should finish your dissertation first and apply to Project NExT the following year.
Answer:
Yes. Your Ph.D. can be in any one of the mathematical sciences,
which include statistics, operations research, and mathematics
education, as well as all fields of pure and applied
mathematics. [Please see also if in non-math
dept FAQ.]
Answer:
No. Since the workshop program deals primarily with teaching and
research in the mathematical sciences, Project NExT is not
appropriate for someone with a Ph.D. in computer science who
teaches only computer science.
Answer:
This is a tricky one. The Project NExT program is designed
primarily for people who teach in departments of mathematics or
statistics. If you have a joint appointment, we would ordinarily
expect at least half of it to be in a math/stats
department. Other configurations are possible, however,
including appointments to multidisciplinary departments or
divisions. If you are uncertain about whether you meet this
criterion, please contact us directly. [Please see also
for stats PhD FAQ.]
Answer:
Yes, provided you will be teaching in
2008-2009
at a college or university in the United States or Canada (which
are the countries served by the Mathematical Association of
America).
Answer:
Yes, provided you meet the other eligibility criteria. In fact,
it is possible to "use up" your eligibility while you are in a
postdoctoral or non-tenure-track position. If you will have a
postdoctoral position in
2008-2009
that involves no teaching at all, however, then we recommend
that you wait until you have a job that does involve some
teaching.
Answer:
You can check to see whether there is a Section NExT in your
region. Section NExTs are regional versions of Project NExT that
are sponsored by the MAA's geographic Sections. Their
eligibility criteria are usually less stringent that those of
the national program. You can find information about MAA
Sections on the
Section webpage
and a list of Sections that currently have Section NExTs on the
Section
NExT webpage.
Answer:
The
2008-2009
Project NExT Fellows will have to attend three national meetings:
[Department chairs are usually interested in the fact that these three meetings are spread over two fiscal years.] Thus you will need:
(After the first meeting, Project NExT Fellows often choose to cut costs by sharing rooms with each other.)
Depending on transportation costs, this usually adds up to about $3000 per Fellow. Note that there is no charge for participating in the Project NExT workshops and other activities. During the first summer workshop in Madison, the Fellows' meals and lodging are paid for by the grants that support Project NExT. Note that this support does not include Fellows' stay at Mathfest after the workshop; this is part of their institutions' responsibility.
Answer:
The Fellows are expected to attend all three meetings:
Madison
(July 28-August 2, 2008)
Washington
(January 5-8, 2009)
and
Portland
(August 5-8, 2009).
The meeting in
Madison
(July 28-August 2, 2008)
is absolutely essential, because it is at the first summer
workshop that the Fellows begin building the sense of community
that is such an important part of Project NExT.
Although family or medical reasons occasionally prevent a Fellow from attending one of the other two meetings, Fellows should not schedule travel or summer school teaching that would prevent them from attending. If you already know that you will be unable to attend the Project NExT workshop and Mathfest in Madison (July 28-August 2, 2008), then you should not apply to Project NExT in 2008.
Answer:
The first objective of the one-page vita is to tell us who you
are and where you've been, so that we don't have to piece
together your life history from your personal statement. It also
helps us to decide whether you meet the eligibility requirements
for the national Project NExT [See for 2nd
year teaching FAQ.] Beyond that,
we're interested in whatever you consider important - teaching
experience, papers and conference presentations, awards, etc.
Answer:
We realize that most people can't give a detailed description of
their research in only 250 words. We're interested in knowing
what you've been working on in the past and what your plans are
for future scholarly work.
Answer:
Since we don't want Fellows to drop out of the program because
of lack of travel money, the first thing we look for in the
letter of support is a firm and clearly stated institutional
commitment to pay the applicant's travel expenses to the three
meetings that participation in Project NExT entails [See
meeting cost FAQ]. We also want to know
whether the applicant will be permitted and encouraged to
implement new teaching strategies in the classroom. Beyond that, we
are interested in knowing how the applicant's participation in
Project NExT would contribute to the department's goals and about
its potential effect on the department as a whole.
The address given on the application materials is correct, and your application should reach us. The error message appears because the ZIP code of the mail room at Saint Louis University (where Christine Stevens works) is different from the ZIP code of her building, and her University has asked the U.S. Postal Service to deliver all Express Mail directly to the mail room. They, in turn, deliver it to her. You will find out whether we received your application because we acknowledge all hard copy applications by email, usually within a few days of receipt. [Online applicants see a confirmation page at the end of the application process which indicates that the application was received; accordingly, we do not send additional confirmation for on-line applications.]
Answer:
See the application page.
In recent years we have received 100 to 150 applications per year, from which we have selected 70-85 Fellows.
Previous groups of Fellows have told us that the sense of community that develops among the Fellows is one of the most important aspects of Project NexT. Increasing the number of Fellows might make it harder to establish and maintain that sense of community. Costs are also a consideration.
Answer:
Our goal is to tell applicants by
June 1, 2008,
whether they were selected as Project NExT Fellows. (Whether you
are selected or not, you will hear from us.) Please make sure
that you give us a good postal mail address and a working e-mail
address on your application form, so that we can notify
you. Then be sure to check your postal mail and e-mail (we usually
send notifications by e-mail) around
June 1, 2008.