next »

[wannabeaphd]

Hello all,

I posted recently and wanted to ask for advice on another matter.

I am currently researching PhD degrees in Education. I am looking at various types of programs (foundations, research methods, urban ed, anthropology of ed, ed policy, cultural studies in ed, history/philosophy of ed) but I want to know whether r not I may be missing programs that could be well-suited to me. I am not particularly interested in getting an EdD, because research and having the option to teach are important to me.

My dream job would look something like a Dean of Academic Affairs with a teaching appointment, or a TT professorship + department/program/graduate admissions coordinator, or TT professorship with partial responsibilities in terms of accreditation or institutional research, or perhaps even a Dean of Faculty position that also lets me teach. Are these types of positions usual or unusual? I have seen variations on this employment model at different institutions.

Am I looking at the right kind of programs? I have thought about Higher Ed Leadership PhD programs, but I do not necessarily want my academic research to be about organizational models, or strictly topics which relate to higher ed. Basically, I want more flexibility…

Background:
I did my BA in Anthropology and just finished my MA in Education (Social and Cultural Foundations/Analysis) last spring. I have a bit of a career background in student affairs and professional development. In terms of career goals, the things that are most important to me are interaction with students (teaching, advising, student affairs, etc.) and getting to do academic research. Also employability.

Any advice?

Best.

[laurel_knx]

Given that you seem to want a research/teaching job with an administration component (rather than just the latter), I think you ought to start with identifying your research interests and choose a field based on that. Any department has administration positions that you could move into and then up the administration ladder. What's important is that you find a field you love to research and teach in, so you can establish yourself as an academic first and give yourself a chance to take on admin roles.

[archman]

I am confused. You say you want to teach and do research, and then transition off into how much you want to be an administrator. You seem to have the desired (and very senior) job titles for prominent admin positions down, but devote little/no description to teaching or research interests.

In my mind, this strikes me as rather backwards, and in some ways even contradictory. Perhaps you could elaborate much more on your research interests, as that is normally the primary focus of a PhD program.

Basically, any academic can rise into admin if they have the proper experience, popularity, and contacts.

You read like you want to "dabble" in research and teaching but really want to be an admin. This is a huge red flag for someone wanting to enter a PhD program. Can you elaborate more on what you hope to get out of a PhD program? Do you want it as a stepping stone into admin primarily?

[wannabeaphd]

Thank you for your input thus far.

I want to apologize and clarify. When I said that those admin + TT positions were my “dream job,” what I really mean was that they are my future, ultimate career goal (many years in the future). I hope to teach for many years before that point. I am very interested in research. The only problem is that I seem to be almost more passionate about research itself than any single topic... I have completed 2 thesis projects (one for BA and one for MA) on quite disparate topics and have loved every minute of both projects. I adore anthropological field methods, qualitative research, and reading and writing ethnography, I am interested in education, studying US society, capitalism, democracy, social welfare, history of education, higher education, public education, educational equity, etc…

Do I just need more time to refine my research interests? Probably. But I feel that I have found several PhD programs in Education that would allow me to pursue many of these different research interests. I am also a bit preoccupied about future employment opportunities because my partner is also planning to pursue a PhD and we would prefer to live in the same place (at least within a few hours drive if manageable). However, she is passionate about cultural studies (which I regard as a slightly more eclectic field of study). So, I want to make sure I get into a discipline where I can be a bit more flexible.

I suppose that I was mostly just curious whether or not administrative positions often went to a particular discipline or if any discipline would have a good chance at such positions.

[sciencephd]

Graduate education is all about focus.  You need to start with that.

[laurel_knx]

I think the OP just begged for a flame war, poor thing, but I'll sympathize... If your interests span several domains, there's really nothing wrong with being pragmatic about job opportunities. To my limited knowledge, there are no particular domains that lead to more administrators, since the admins in any particular college come from the professors from that college (i.e., they don't import education profs to run the College of Engineering or anything). I would advise seeking out a field with a high probability of securing a TT job in the first place, since you'll never get anywhere in admin as an adjunct.

If you're going to go the Education route, there are several fields that have pretty good job prospects. If you have K-16 teaching experience, it looks even better. Try searching the archives for some of the discussions of which fields of education have better outlooks. My recollection is that philosophy of education is tough, research methods is easier (especially if you're open to quant methods in addition to your qualitative interests). Keep in mind that most methodologists have substantive interests as well. Have you considered areas of counseling or student affairs?

I think the best advice is to forget your 30-year plan for now and focus on the 10-year plan (your professors in grad school will probably respond like SciencePHD, so just quit talking about it). Find a way to do research in a field where you will (a) love the topic as well as the process, (b) get paid to go to school, and (c) have a shot at a TT job.

[wannabeaphd]

Wow. There is a lot I don't know about interactions between faculty and administrators. I feel like I may be unintentionally offending by my ignorance of these rifts...

But, still, thank you all for your good advice. I was thinking that methods would have a better job outlook than other areas in education (I'm not super interested in k-12 or counseling), so I have begun to shift my search to that area. I think I will also look into sociology programs as well, since those seem to coincide with some of my interests. And, of course, spend some meaningful time refining my research interests. Hopefully a year will be long enough to tease out that mess... thank goodness for forward planning.

Again, sorry to offend. And, thanks for being patient.

[outlier]

You could research education from within Anthropology or Sociology, or you could use an anthropological or sociological approach or topic from within an Education Ph.D. program. If you do the latter, you might end up spending your career in a school of education. Is that what you want? If you don't know enough to answer that, you might want to spend some time in different environments before you decide. In my admittedly limited experience, schools of education are full of people who are risk-tolerant in theory and risk-averse in practice, who see themselves as cutting edge while staying safely within the herd. I know I'm going to get reamed for that, but that is my observation. I can't comment on Anthropologists or Sociologists. And that's just the faculty. Also consider the types of students who major in these different disciplines, because you'd be spending a lot of time with them, too.

What is your temperament and with which people will you fit? And even if you just like doing research, you have to spend a lot of time reading other people's research. What studies or kinds of studies intrigue and excite you? Is there a question or bunch of questions you'd like to answer or explore? Unless you want to be a perpetual student, it's worth taking the time to figure these things out before you choose a program, even if it means waiting a year or two.

[msparticularity]

The job outlook is truly awful in foundations (which includes history, sociology, and sometimes anthropology of ed). It is better in curriculum and instruction, but you are not a good candidate for that without P-12 teaching experience. There are certainly jobs in research methods, but that ordinarily goes hand-in-hand with some area of research. For example, the qual researchers/methods experts I know work in: 1) foundations; 2) literacy (K-12); 3) curriculum (K-12); and multicultural ed/diversity (generally K-12).

Given your interest in administration and/or student affairs, you really might look more deeply into higher ed. I have colleagues who work in some very interesting areas, including student life, over in our Higher Ed department. And loving research is a terrific qualification for a life in postsecondary ed. I just think you need to find out what you're passionate about researching.

Last, a BIG caution--take a look at some of the threads here on "the two-body problem," and then think really, really carefully about whether you and your SO want to proceed along this path. And be sure to find out how the market is for both areas involved.