Visiting Scholars Program
The UNM Department of Communication & Journalism welcomes self-funded faculty and postdoctoral fellows as visiting scholars. Scholars may be locally, nationally or internationally based and serve on a rotating basis (with a limit of two per semester).
Visiting scholars may join us at the beginning of a semester (fall or spring) and visit for one or two semesters. Visiting scholars are expected to have completed a Ph.D. prior to their arrival at the Department. International applicants should review the information provided by UNM’s Global Education Office.
Visiting Scholar Opportunities for Faculty and Postdocs
The C&J Department provides visiting scholars with the following: a letter of invitation, basic technical and admin support, access to the UNM library system, email address and digital resources including a UNM NetID, plus office space in which to work (shared or solo depending on our space availability).
The C&J Department requests from each visiting scholar a one-time processing fee of $300 upon their arrival at UNM.
In addition, please keep in mind that international visiting scholars are responsible for their own UNM-hosted USA J-1 exchange visa processing fee and any other fees associated with their visit. The visa processing fee must be received (via wire transfer) before applying for a visa; specific instructions will be provided by the Department upon approval of the visiting request.
Once at UNM, visiting scholars are welcome to join our departmental social events, C&J colloquia, and University-wide public talks. They are not expected to join faculty meetings. Visiting scholars may also audit graduate courses with the permission of the instructor. Moreover, visiting scholars may be invited by faculty to provide guest lectures in C&J classes.
Lastly, visiting scholars are expected to give a departmental colloquium lecture (open to the public) and to interact with Department faculty and graduate students during their stay. Overall, visiting scholars are invited to enrich the C&J Department as a Collective in meaningful ways.
Visiting Scholar Application and Selection Process
Applications are screened by the Visiting Scholars Program Committee. Selected applicants are then reviewed, evaluated, and finalized by the C&J Department Chair. The primary criterion that the Committee considers is an intellectually productive fit between the research expertise, interests, and future directions of the prospective visitor and the C&J Department. By an intellectually productive fit, the C&J Department means a relationship between the applicant’s rationale for visiting the Department and the research expertise, interests, and future directions of faculty members and/or graduate students in the Department who are interested in hosting the applicant.
With this emphasis on a relationship as a way to build the Collective, the C&J Department is particularly interested in prospective visiting scholars who can secure at least one primary faculty “sponsor” by themselves. At the time of application, the prospective visiting scholar must name a tenured faculty member (Full Professor or Associate Professor) in the C&J Department whose research expertise, interests, and future direction align with their own and who has already agreed to support their application. The Department prefers Full or Associate Professors as faculty sponsors as the Department would like to protect Assistant Professors from extra service during their pre-tenure probationary periods. In addition to a primary sponsor, prospective visiting scholars are expected to name one or two other departmental faculty members of any rank and/or one or two graduate (MA/PhD) students with whom they share research interests, and who are willing to serve as liaisons with them during their visit.
If prospective visiting scholars do not have already-established connections with Department faculty and/or graduate students, they can request that the Visiting Scholars Program Committee secure a primary faculty sponsor and two other faculty members or graduate students who share research interests by suggesting possible names. Because this method of application process is not ideal, the committee may request additional materials and/or a phone or online interview during the application process.
Questions and applications should be sent to Department Chair, Dr. Ilia Rodríguez Nazario (ilia@unm.edu). Questions about the J-1 exchange visa process should be sent to Phillip Gill (phigill@unm.edu), International Advisor in UNM’s Global Education Office.
Applications should include the following:
- Your desired length of visit (one or two semesters)
- Your current curriculum vitae (CV)
- A description of your research interests
- A description of your specific goals in visiting the C&J Department, UNM, and/or the State of New Mexico
- Why/how you see the C&J Department as a good fit for your visit
- The name of the C&J faculty member who has agreed to serve as the primary sponsor for your visit, and the names of 1-2 other faculty and/or graduate students who have agreed to serve as liaisons with you during your visit
- As noted above, in case you do not currently have connections to C&J Department members, please list possible names. While this is not an ideal method of application, the committee will try its best to match applicants with Department faculty and/or grad students.
- the names, titles, and contact information for two references, including their email addresses and phone numbers.
