1 / 13

Academic Career Paths and Expectations: A Comprehensive Overview

Learn about the roles and responsibilities of faculty members, academic ranks, types of institutions, and the rewards of working in research universities or undergrad institutions.

anacagle
Download Presentation

Academic Career Paths and Expectations: A Comprehensive Overview

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Academic Careers • Adapted from presentations and slides by: • T. Williams - Texas A & M University • C. Ellis - Duke University • S. Castaneda, Clarke College • The CRA-W Grad Cohort for Women Program

  2. What does a faculty member do? • Research • engage in scientific discovery • involve students (grad, undergrad) • obtain research funding • Teaching • classroom teaching • mentoring DO EVERYTHING WELL! • advising • Service • departmental • university • professional

  3. Types of Institutions (US) • Research universities (Ph.D. program) - research is paramount • Colleges/universities: M.S. program - emphasize teaching but research is a close second • Selective liberal arts colleges: B.S. program – emphasize teaching and service, but scholarship also counts • Teaching-oriented colleges: B.S. program – emphasize teaching & service Within institutions - different priorities can exist

  4. Examples of different expectations • Research Institution • 60-80% Research • 10-35% Teaching • 5-10% Service • Teaching-oriented College • 50-80% Teaching • 10-30% Professional Development • 10-20% Service

  5. Academic Ranks • Professorial Ranks • Assistant Professor (untenured) -- 6 years • Associate Professor (with tenure) • Full Professor • Chaired Professor (in CIS: Amer) • Administrative Ranks • Department Chair • Dean - in charge of a college • Provost - chief academic officer • President • Instructor or Lecturer – teaching & service • Postdoctoral positions - research

  6. Research - Research University • Publications – journals, conferences, workshops • External research funding - NSF, US Army, NIH, NASA, … • Graduate student training (PhD students) • Reputation • Maybe: • Undergraduate research mentoring • Patents, software artifacts,…

  7. Teaching - Research University Teaching load: generally 1+1 to 2+2, but in CS 1+2 common • Audience: undergrads, grads, mix • Course material: intro undergrad through core grad course, to research seminar • Teaching assistants Very good research, bad teaching – may not be promoted Excellent teaching, mediocre research - will not be promoted

  8. Research - Undergrad Institution “Professional Development” Some combination of these: • Research • Teaching skills development • Professional conferences, workshops • Publishing (sometimes teaching related) • Work with professional organizations

  9. Teaching - Undergrad Institution • Teaching is primary responsibility – 2+2 to 4+4 • Audience is all undergrads • Teach wider variety of courses • Teach the same course less often due to smaller faculty size • More office hours • Closer student interactions • Research area may be too specialized to teach as a course • Smaller class size • Teaching assistants, if available, are senior undergrads • Often you grade assignments

  10. Service - Research University • Department committees • University committees (usually after tenure) • External Professional Service • Program committees • Funding panels • Conference organization • Professional society involvement • Journal editorship; program chair, conf organization • Higher in rank, more service (internal + external)

  11. Service - Undergrad Institution • College - committee work • Department • Committees • Advising – formal and informal • Recruiting • Labs, work study, library acquisitions, clubs, … • Community • Consulting • Speaking

  12. Rewards of a Research University • Love of research and freedom to do research that you want • Working with and training graduate students • Involving undergraduates in research • Making friends across the world • Variety of work • Can create the kind of career that you want – you can be very independent (as long as meet expectations)

  13. Rewards of an Undergrad Institution • Opportunity to teach as a passion! • Close relationship with undergrads You can make a big difference • Colleagues in various departments • Chance for leadership and influence early on

More Related