Preparing Future Faculty and Professional Program

Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals (PFFP) at IU Indianapolis equips graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with the skills and experiences needed to succeed across academic and non-academic career paths.

The program allows you to choose your emphasis between four core competency areas, teaching, research, organizational/professional, and service, which reflect the abilities most valued in today’s workforce.

Apply to PFFP

Program Plan

How the program works

  1. Apply and get accepted. Submit your application and receive confirmation of admission.
  2. Attend or watch orientation. Live or recorded. 1 credit.
  3. Complete your track requirements. 11 credits, distributed as below.
  4. Write your capstone reflection essay. 1 credit.
PFF TrackPFP Track
Teaching6 credits5 credits
Research, service, or organizational and professional5 credits6 credits
Total, including orientation and capstone13 credits13 credits

On completion you earn the title of PFFP Scholar, along with a certificate and a digital badge to showcase on your résumé, CV, and professional profiles.

Watch the Spring 2026 Orientation

The PFFP program builds on the national Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) model, which was created to support graduate students in cultivating the skills needed to become effective faculty members. IU Indianapolis expanded this model to also prepare students and fellows for a wide range of career pathways within and beyond academia

Note: Indiana University School of Medicine Ph.D. students cannot begin the PFFP program until they have selected a permanent Ph.D. program and joined the laboratory of a permanent faculty mentor, typically in the second year.