Questions tagged [faculty-application]

Questions specifically concerning applying for faculty-level job announcements.

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21 votes
7 answers
12k views

Are old (>35) faculty candidates discriminated against all over the world?

I think that in India research institutes will never take a faculty candidate who is over 35. Is it so all over the world? I am asking this question from the point of view of if someone starts their ...
user6818's user avatar
  • 1,549
50 votes
6 answers
18k views

Dressing etiquette for interviews in academia

Are there expected dressing norms at faculty interviews? Will a casual tee-jeans be discouraged? In the same vein, what is expected when a student visits the campus for an interview?
Bravo's user avatar
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34 votes
7 answers
11k views

Is TA-ing worth the opportunity cost (of having more time for research)?

If you already have funding, is TA-ing (i.e. being a teaching assistant) worth the opportunity cost of doing more research? What are the relevant considerations? I've always heard that focusing on ...
capybaralet's user avatar
33 votes
3 answers
9k views

Faculty positions: What to say in a statement on diversity?

Some job ads of US schools require a "statement on diversity". I am not based in the US, and have never written one before. What should one say in a statement on diversity anyway? Am I supposed to ...
user12956's user avatar
  • 2,145
28 votes
2 answers
5k views

Is it more difficult to score a Tenure Track position in the US when applying from outside?

I am currently located in central Europe. When I was hunting for an assistant professor position some months ago, I was also planning to apply to some US institutions for Tenure Track positions. ...
xLeitix's user avatar
  • 135k
23 votes
3 answers
12k views

Accepted post-doc and have subsequently received offers for full time faculty position - quandary

After my PhD (Mechanical engineering) in 2013, I have been employed as a "visiting assistant professor-TERM" for 2013-2014 at the same university (in the USA). In this time I have been applying for ...
dearN's user avatar
  • 4,230
15 votes
5 answers
10k views

What is the recommended option for a faculty applicant after accepting an offer and getting another better offer?

As universities provide short deadlines for faculty position offers, applicants can accept an offer-1 (verbally or by signing a contract) and which is not the best. What is the recommended option if a ...
Thomas Lee's user avatar
  • 4,960
46 votes
3 answers
27k views

What should I ask deans during my interview?

I managed to snag my first interview for a tenure-track assistant professor job. As I had heard, the itinerary seems somewhat gruelling. What caught my eye in particular are three 45min-1hr meetings ...
Casteels's user avatar
  • 1,107
41 votes
3 answers
7k views

When during the application process should a candidate mention that their spouse is also looking for a job

When during the application process should a candidate say that their spouse is also looking for a job? The issue of academic spouses who want to find employment close enough to live together is ...
Oswald Veblen's user avatar
17 votes
2 answers
4k views

Two different recommenders asked me to draft my own recommendation letter for my faculty application. How to distinguish the two?

I am applying to faculty positions and two of the people I asked to be my references requested me to provide a draft of the recommendation letter. I am in a STEM field. Is this common practice even ...
Camil's user avatar
  • 171
13 votes
2 answers
3k views

Junior professorship (W1) in Germany without full German proficiency

I am a Computer Science PhD student aiming for an Academic career. One of the options I am considering after I receive the degree is to apply for a W1 professor position in Germany (Junior professor). ...
Mohamed Khamis's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
9k views

"Research Statement" vs. "Research Plan" for assistant professor applications

I'm putting together applications for assistant professor positions and some ask for a research statement whereas others ask for a research plan (still others, although a rarity, ask for neither). It ...
hendra's user avatar
  • 203
9 votes
5 answers
2k views

How would a small liberal arts college view a PhD from Germany or the UK? Factors other than teaching ops?

Main concern: I am looking at PhD programs in Germany and the UK (vs US programs). Ideally, I would like to end up at a small liberal arts college (I got my BA from one). So I know I want a program ...
neuroexpat's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Getting faculty position in the US: after Postdoc in the US or Lecturer in the UK?

I am a postdoc in a US university (Rank A, edit: R1). I tried to get an academic faculty position in the US, but was unsuccessful. I got an offer (lecturer in the UK system) from the UK university (...
user24094's user avatar
  • 371
4 votes
2 answers
422 views

Value of listing OEIS contributions on an academic CV

The Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) is a large online database of number sequences. It's popular among professional and amateur mathematicians, and its entries are widely cited. Like ...
Psychonaut's user avatar
  • 1,852
35 votes
8 answers
6k views

Will anybody actually read your research and teaching statements?

When applying to faculty jobs, how much weight is given to your research/teaching statements? Talking with a few folks on admissions committees at Very Good Departments in Big Research Universities, ...
Dnuorg Spu's user avatar
  • 5,798
33 votes
1 answer
1k views

Which topics should be covered in a teaching statement?

In mathematics, submitting a teaching statement (also called teaching philosophy or similar names) is part of the application package for any teaching jobs (and most research jobs). I suspect it is a ...
user avatar
27 votes
2 answers
6k views

Advice/guidance when interviewing for a faculty or postdoc job via Skype or phone?

Plenty of advice is available for standard interviews, should phone/Skype interviews be approached any differently? (This was asked on twitter by @emilyandthelime, I have my own, partial answer that ...
Alex Holcombe's user avatar
27 votes
6 answers
7k views

What do search committees really read in a CV during initial screening for a faculty position?

Faculty positions are very competitive, and each advertisement should roughly receive hundreds of applications. I think search committees cannot spend more than 1 min reading each CV during the ...
user31966's user avatar
  • 271
23 votes
2 answers
49k views

Answer to "Will you be able to provide proof of your identity and employment eligibility if you are hired"?

I am an European citizen applying for some academic jobs in US. I have some doubts on one question I have to answer during the application process 1) Are you presently legally authorized to work in ...
user64246's user avatar
  • 231
23 votes
1 answer
4k views

Should I write "we" or "I" in my research statement?

I am currently in the process of applying for tenure-track assistant professor jobs. I was wondering whether I should write "we" or "I" in my research statement. While it is true that I did not do all ...
I Like to Code's user avatar
22 votes
5 answers
9k views

Is it generally acceptable if reference letters for postdoc or faculty jobs are submitted after the application deadline?

I am currently applying for post-doctoral and asst. professorship positions. One of my letter writer is most likely to submit the letter a week late. Some of the positions I am applying to clearly ...
user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
8k views

What do I need to include in a tenure-track assistant professor job application cover letter?

I am currently applying for tenure-track assistant professor jobs. One of the positions requires me to submit a cover letter, in addition to a CV, research statement, and teaching statement. (The ...
I Like to Code's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
6k views

How to negotiate the salary for a UK faculty position?

Following several interviews, I have been offered two faculty positions in the UK. Salary is among the factors I consider to choose one of the positions. How can I reasonably negotiate the salary? ...
Kumar's user avatar
  • 141
14 votes
4 answers
5k views

Should academic CVs include reviewing, non-academic service, hobbies and languages?

Do you suggest adding these to an academic CV? Review journals/conferences. Can adding such information creates negative issues or it would only have positive impression? Non-academic service: ...
Thomas Lee's user avatar
  • 4,960
13 votes
5 answers
2k views

Do evaluation / recruiting committees respect "co first authors"?

Inspired by this question and this question, I continue my ongoing quest of understanding the concept of co first-authorship. My question are: In which fields does this notion even exist? If the ...
xLeitix's user avatar
  • 135k
12 votes
2 answers
3k views

What are committees looking for in a cover letter for a faculty application?

Several small related questions about how to present oneself in a faculty application, and in particular the cover letter: Should it end by saying something, like "I am waiting for your call" or "I ...
Thomas Lee's user avatar
  • 4,960
12 votes
1 answer
3k views

How to negotiate multiple tenure-track offers

I'm in the lucky situation that I received 2 offers for tenure-track positions within days of each other from institutions A and B. Either one of the institutions would be a good fit. So far, neither ...
Mueiucys's user avatar
  • 121
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to respond to "How much funding will you bring?" as an interview question for a faculty job?

What are the possible answers for such interview question assuming a new graduate with no funds! How much funding you will bring to the department?
Thomas Lee's user avatar
  • 4,960
7 votes
3 answers
500 views

What "Applicant Confidential Data Form" has to do with tenure-track positions?

The data collected using "Applicant Confidential Data Form" will be used by US-based universities to monitor University’s Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Programs as required by the US ...
Espanta's user avatar
  • 3,912
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Applying to several faculty positions within the same institution

The following question is not a general question about applying to many academic positions at different institutions, but rather about applying to several positions within the same institution (...
Aleksandr Blekh's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
878 views

Plan for generating external funding

I am preparing an application for a full-time lecturer position. They asked me for a teaching statement (done), a research statement (done) and a plan for generating funding for the next three years (...
user42691's user avatar
63 votes
10 answers
19k views

Any good way to tell a faculty candidate "We don't want you"?

I serve on a faculty search committee at a large university here in the US. The part of the job none of us enjoys is informing a candidate who's visited and given a teaching demonstration that we've ...
Nicole Hamilton's user avatar
54 votes
6 answers
8k views

How to screen out candidates for faculty jobs who don't know the subject

I teach physics at a community college and have been on a number of hiring committees for tenure-track jobs. Usually we interview about 6 people for such a position, and of those, usually something ...
user avatar
54 votes
9 answers
10k views

How to deal with systematic rigging of academic position job postings?

In a discussion with some of my close friends in other academic institutes, we noticed the common experience* in which it seems that well over 80% of the advertised job postings for permanent or ...
Hjan's user avatar
  • 1,330
41 votes
8 answers
10k views

How to deal with unavoidable failure in my first year of tenure-track applications?

I got my PhD recently. I applied to many tenure-track positions and got selected for several onsite job interviews. Yay. However I have actually been told in no uncertain terms by several trusted ...
user91750's user avatar
  • 437
35 votes
1 answer
2k views

Unconscious bias toward recommendation letters written by men?

This is an attempt to rescue a strongly down-voted question. Are there any studies investigating possible unconscious gender bias in evaluating recommendation letters? Specifically, is there any ...
JeffE's user avatar
  • 98.6k
33 votes
5 answers
2k views

How to remove gender bias from an academic job search?

I overheard some professors discussing the next round of hiring at my university and several were concerned about gender bias possibly playing an issue in the hiring process. An initial thought is to ...
Kyle S.'s user avatar
  • 1,178
23 votes
2 answers
2k views

Tenured position to be started very soon...what to do with the old affiliation

Nowadays I am a second year assistant professor (without tenure) in physics at a German university (rank W1, Juniorprofessor), advising 2 PhD students. Today, it came to me the information about a ...
Johnny Cage's user avatar
  • 2,156
20 votes
2 answers
8k views

Difference between private and public universities as a faculty member?

As a grad student I was, for the most part, shielded from issues like high-level bureaucracy, departmental duties and politics, and long-term career advancement. Obviously these things become more ...
Dnuorg Spu's user avatar
  • 5,798
19 votes
2 answers
3k views

How to write a strong research plan?

This comes following my other question. When writing a research plan/statement when applying for an assistant professor position, how should be the document structure? I have to explain a few (e.g., ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 231
17 votes
4 answers
5k views

Should I disclose gender, race, disabilities etc. in tenure track job applications?

I am applying for assistant professor positions in the U.S. and Canada, and I often have to fill in forms of voluntary self-identification disclosing my gender, race, veteran status, disabilities etc. ...
Richard Hardy's user avatar
15 votes
1 answer
2k views

Do certificates for "Outstanding Reviewer Contribution" matter?

So, I have recently received a certificate of outstanding reviewer contribution from a good and well-known journal in my field. I admit that I did not even know these things exist until now. Do ...
PsySp's user avatar
  • 7,871
15 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the appropriate length and specificity for a teaching statement?

A colleague and friend has been approached by another institution (a state university in the U.S.) seeking to fill a position. My friend, who is putting a package together, has asked me to review his ...
J.R.'s user avatar
  • 13.4k
15 votes
3 answers
2k views

Do they really mean "in all areas" and "will continue to be accepted until..." in Computer Science faculty opening ads in the US?

The following is an extension of the question Job applications reviewed "until the position is filled" (i.e. soft deadline): What does that really mean?. In most US job announcements of ...
Leon Meier's user avatar
  • 3,993
15 votes
3 answers
2k views

Does obtaining citizenship somewhere help in applying for a faculty position there?

Would obtain the citizenship of a country help to be a more successful applicant for an academic job? More specifically, for example consider that an international scholar, who currently holds a ...
wonderich's user avatar
  • 543
14 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to write teaching philosophy and research statement?

I am applying for faculty positions in the US. Almost all of them require teaching philosophy and research statements. I have read some examples, but still do not understand what should I write. ...
No Name's user avatar
  • 149
14 votes
4 answers
5k views

Is it appropriate for a PI to appoint someone who is a family member?

I am a junior faculty in one of the top-tier research US institutions. I just joined the department and hired two GRAs meanwhile. In addition, I would like to appoint one more individual in my ...
Arafin Arif's user avatar
14 votes
3 answers
636 views

How to demonstrate excellent undergraduate and graduate teaching capabilities in academic position applications?

It is quite common in almost all position opening announcements in academic institutes to demonstrate EXCELLENT teaching capabilities. For instance sentences like below: Applicants are expected to ...
Espanta's user avatar
  • 3,912
13 votes
1 answer
6k views

How to politely turn down an on-site faculty interview offer

I have decided to accept a tenure-track assistant professor offer. But at this moment, I still have a virtual on-campus interview with a different university. It is now the time to inform the ...
user avatar