next »

[hibernian]

(This topic could also be posted in the job-seeking list, but it also works here I think...)

I am a US citizen interested in applying for academic positions in Canada, and I am wondering if anyone might advise me about a couple of things:

1. Canadian job ads all have the statement about a Canadian hiring preference at the end of them, but I have also seen some that say new rules have come in that open this up a bit. How reduced are my chances because I am not Canadian?

2. I see that most positions have 2/3 teaching and seem to have a balance between teaching and research. Is that accurate?

3. I have both degrees and teaching experience from the US and the UK. Will this help, or is this a neutral factor?

4. Are there significantly different pedagogical methods, administrative structures that I ought to be familiar with?

5. Is there anything in particular that I should emphasize in an application?

Thanks for any advice anyone might have!

[tenuretracker]

I hope you get some responses to your questions, Hibernian, as I am also interested in the answers.

I am curious in particular of what exactly a "probationary tenure track" position describes? I guess I was under the assumption that all assistant professors were on "probation" until awarded tenure.

Best,
AP

[sueenglish]

Hi

I can only give you anecdotal stuff as I have no experience of Canada. So the following is only based on an ex-colleague and her husband's experience so probably not worth that much:

She was educated in New Zealand (her birth place) and then the US.
He was educated in the UK (his birth place) and then the US.

Both worked for British and US colleges then both moved to assistant professor jobs in Canada. They felt it was pretty easy and that their backgrounds were helpful.

Their subjects are Lit. and Spanish.

Hope someone can offer better advice.

[helpful]

1. Canadian job ads all have the statement about a Canadian hiring preference at the end of them, but I have also seen some that say new rules have come in that open this up a bit. How reduced are my chances because I am not Canadian?

Depends on the field. What is your field. Basically what happens in most cases is that Canadians in the pile are looked at first to fill out a short list of 3 or so; if there aren't sufficient qualified Canadians the others are looked at. But again that depends on the field and university.

2. I see that most positions have 2/3 teaching and seem to have a balance between teaching and research. Is that accurate?

Most universities in Canada are moving to a heavy desire for research. The teaching load doesn't mean anything in this context. All tenure track positions require research as part of your job. Most have it as 60% with the remainder teaching and service. But the ratio depends on field and university.

2/3 is common; but so is 2/2. At some universities the first year on tenure track you only teach 3 classes so you can get your research program going.

3. I have both degrees and teaching experience from the US and the UK. Will this help, or is this a neutral factor?

It will probably help.

4. Are there significantly different pedagogical methods, administrative structures that I ought to be familiar with?

Unions. Other differences depend on field or university.

5. Is there anything in particular that I should emphasize in an application?

Depends on university and field. What is your field/discipline?

Are you Scottish? (Hibernian gives me a clue!). Being Scottish will be a help!




Thanks for any advice anyone might have!

Good luck!

PS to almost:

Probationery tenure track means you first of all have a contract for 1, 2, or 3 years (depending on university) which is then renewed if all is OK for 2 or 3 years more when you apply for tenure.

[tenuretracker]

Thank you, helpful.

Are probationary tenure track positions the norm? I believe I have seem some ads for each. Is there any difference between tenure track and probationary tenure track?

Thanks so much,

AP

[helpful]

Thank you, helpful.

Are probationary tenure track positions the norm? I believe I have seem some ads for each. Is there any difference between tenure track and probationary tenure track?

Thanks so much,

AP

Well if you are already tenured, or even have a few years experience at the assistant prof level, then normally you would go on a shortened tenure schedule. So there would be no contract renewal (which is what the probationery category refers to) but you would go up for tenure in 2 or 3 years after arriving, even if you are hired at the associate professor level.

For any Canadian jobs I suggest you go to two sites..One would be the faculty union site (I frankly don't know of any university in Canada that DOESNT have a faculty union or association...but remember these are all individual unions and not like the AAUP..though they are all members of the Canadian Association of University Teachers [CAUT]. Each university's union would be strong or weak depending on local factors). Go to the faculty assoc. or union site to see the contract which is most often online.

Secondly, there is a great handbook on negotiating for jobs on the CAUT website. Go to
http://www.caut.ca/en/services/newfaculty/default.asp

[spitfire]

Probationary tenure track and tenure track are basically the same thing. The term "probationary" just refers to the fact that you must pass through a renewal. So, your first contract is two or three years, then you are reappointed to a second contract for two or three years. You come up for tenure in the fall of your fourth or fifth year (on your second contract).

So, they are not signalling anything by using one terminology or another in the ad.

I would also say that tenure requirements are much lower in Canada than in the U.S. but the tenure clock is a little bit shorter, as described above. Of course, this varies by institution and field but, still, from what I've seen, it holds true. You can easily get tenure in Canada without a book in my social science discipline at most institutions while, in the U.S., I understand that a book and more would be expected for tenure, even in a liberal arts college.

The immigration issue is wide open. I have seen searches in which *only* the top Canadian is interviewed and the rest of the list is non-Canadian. (That is, the short list is made with no regard for nationality and then, if there are no Canadians, the top Canadian is added to the short list or bumps the lowest ranked non-Canadian on the list.) I have seen others where no non-Canadians need apply. Depends on market factors and also the institution. U of T, UBC, McGill and other top places in Canada are keen to compete with the top US/UK schools and view the academic job market in global terms. So, they love to hire non-Canadians or Canadians with top US/UK degrees. Others may have a deeper ideological commitment to ensuring that Canadians are given every chance.

(As you may know, there is a long historical story on the immigration rules. There was a big influx of Americans into Canadian universities during the 60s and there are still some sensitivities around that).

In sum, from what I've seen, there is no consistency in the application of the current immigration rules.

As the other poster has said, the research/teaching balance will also depend on the institution but, in general, there is less inequality in Canada, less of a distance between the very top schools and the bottom of the barrel. There is a large swath of middle ranking R2-ish type institutions with relatively standardized expectations for faculty and strong union protections. Some of the top institutions don't care about teaching (or will claim to disdain it) but, I think that most places will expect you to be well-rounded and reasonably balanced in terms of research/teaching/service (40/40/20 as they say at my mid-rank comprehensive university).

Canadian universities are para-public so there is not the same intensive focus on alumni, 'satisfy the customer' and all that sort of thing that you might find in U.S. private schools although all universities are chasing endowment funds so that is starting to change. However, undergrads do not participate in the hiring process in the same way as they would in, say, a liberal arts college in the U.S.

Re: unions...Yes, I agree that most places are unionized. But, there are a few notable exceptions.  U of T is non-unionized. Queen's only got a union  a few years ago. I'm not sure about McGill, UBC and Dal but I wouldn't be surprised if they were non-unionized or only recently unionized. They might have faculty associations but not *actual* unions, as certified bargaining agents.

[tenuretracker]

Thank you, helpful. The website on negotiation is very interesting. I did manage to locate the faculty association website with much information.

Thankyou, geekgirl,

Your post helped to clafiry the issue of probationary tenure track and provided much needed advice.

I am actually looking at Dal(housie). Do you have any information on this university? What I can find out on the web sounds great. And the department seems like a good fit.

Thank you both again,

AP

[spitfire]

Dal is the best university in the Maritimes. It's one of the oldest universities in Canada and has lots of tradition, alumni support, connections to the community etc.  It has some top programs in particular fields. I believe it's quite a conservative institution, albeit with some vegan-progressive enclaves in fields like development studies.

I would check if the faculty association is really a union. Like U of T, it strikes me as a place where the faculty association might be not be a certified bargaining agent. (Do they have a collective agreement posted on their web page? If not, they are likely not a real union.)

Also, Halifax is a lovely small city. As there are something like seven universities in the city, including Dal, the city has a very strong cultural life, lots of independent bookstores, coffee places and some quite decent restos. Its location on the water is fabulous, it has some gorgeous parks and is close by to some of the most beautiful recreational ocean coastline in North America. Personally, it would be too small for me to consider it an ideal location; however, it is certainly a wonderful place to raise a family. My best friend from childhood has lived there for twenty years and she and her husband love it.

In some fields,  is tough for Martitimes universities to attract faculty who will stay in the region (the economy is not as strong as other parts of Canada); therefore, depending on the market in your field, they will likely want to hear about how you plan to live your life in their community, even though, of course, they will not ask you directly. This might also mean that they will be considering people from the Maritimes (e.g. Canadians first) only because they believe such people are more likely to accept their offer and to stick around, saving them the trouble of further searches. So, in you cover letter, you might want to wax on enthusiastically about how keen you are to live there and drop in some line that indicates that you know something about the university and its programs and/or the location.

[bibliologos]

Dal is unionized, with collective agreement and all.  I have a friend working there who quite likes it.  Halifax housing prices are getting to be quite high, so you would want to check if the salary in the collective agreement will be sufficient for you to house yourself.

[tenuretracker]

Thank you, geekgirl.

Could you elaborate on this statement when you get a chance?

"I believe it's quite a conservative institution, albeit with some vegan-progressive enclaves in fields like development studies".

I'm used to the US, so it may seem very progressive in comparision!

Thankyou, bibliologos. I will be sure to check housing in relation to salary. Seems like every area is experiencing large hikes in housing. Sigh.

AP

[helpful]

I beg to differ from another poster....Whether there is a faculty association or a union makes no difference in terms of bargaining a contract. Myuniversity has a faculty association and we are currently discussing the new contract demands for 07-08. And the current contract is posted on their website.

Dalhousie is a good university and Halifax is a great city. What is the field of the OP?

[tenuretracker]

Thank you, helpful. I was the OP about Halifax and Dalhousie. I am in social work. One of  the main reasons, among many, for my interest in Dalhousie and social work scholarship in Canada more generally, is its focus upon more critical theoretical perspectives. In fact I incorporate many Canadian scholars in my research.

The limited amount of research I've done on the university, department and city (perfect size for me) seem like an ideal fit. I will incorporate geekgirl's advice on making this clear to the search committee.

Thank you all for being so generous with your advice and expertise,

AP

[spitfire]

I have the sense that Halifax is somewhat socially conservative but more in an old Tory sense than in a raging blue state sense. I know what you mean by critical work and there isn't a lot of in my discipline at Dal. On the other hand, these things really vary by field, as we know. And, I think the NDP has done quite well in Halifax, which indicates solid progressive-lefty values are floating around.

[spitfire]

Sorry, I meant in the raging *red state* sense....I tend to reverse the red states/blue states.