Showdown: Superstar Advisor v. Name-brand School

[pickles]

So I recently found this forum and it's been super helpful to me for getting ready to apply in the fall. One thing I keep seeing in the advice given here is unclear to me, and that is, why go with a big-name potential advisor over a big-name school? The advice given me by my current profs is to apply far and wide but to aim high, b/c the individuals on hiring committees down the road may not know anything about your particular subfield but they will know the names Harvard, Berkeley, etc. etc. If I've been studying with the Brad Pitt (ok, that's TOO big of a name, umm Forest Whitaker) of 18th c. Prussia, how does that help me when the profs looking to hire me specialize in modern U.S. or ancient China?

ETA: and I forgot to ask (b/c my cheesy analogy sort of masques the issue): how do you know if a prof is a big deal in their subfield? should i ask my current profs if they've heard of them?

Edited March 30, 2010 by pickles

[breakfast]

I think it's mostly because Harvard and Berkeley don't have friends working in the same sub-field, they don't publish articles or books, and they can't write you great letters of recommendation.

I've never heard of a hiring committee that didn't include at least one person who knows even a little about the sub-field being hired for, but then I only really know of the hiring committees at my large undergrad department.

[cm125]

If your advisor is a "super-star" or even a "star" then what kind of place are you applying to that no one would know of their work or reputation. I'm no expert on acting, and I only go to the movies a couple times a year, but I still know who Forest Whitaker is...see what I'm saying? As mentioned before, if they are renowned, someone on the hiring committee will know of them.

When you leave graduate school, you will be known more as a student of Professor X, than a student from Harvard.

[Riotbeard]

It's a balancing act. You probably don't want to go to East Montana State (made up, at least I assume it is...) even if they have the best guy in your subfield, but you also don't want to go to the brand name with no one doing your specialty. For example my subfield is Southern, but I will probably apply for general U.S. Jobs, so your program's overall reputation may matter more than that of your subfield (espiacially if the committee is general Americanists), but you also don't want an interview where they ask you why you went to school with nobody in your subfield. You also want your letter writers to have a good professional knowlegde of your work (which means subfield). I would say the key is to go to the best school you can get into with a good concentration in your subfield and an advisor who really wants you there (but maybe not the absolute best in your subfield) instead of the biggest name on the front of the building. Your letters and relationship with your advisor are essential. Your school name can only get your foot in the door (if that). If your letters say, "I hardly know this jackass" (or essentially vague positives) than your pedigree isn't worth anything and you won't get an interview. You also need to go where there is a mentor who will help you develop the best professional portfolio possible (the advisor is huge but not the exclusive consideration).

[TMP]

I go to a big name school with a superstar for an adviser for my MA.

Sounds fabulous. But I'm actually having trouble smiling to people (academics AND non-academics) when they find out where I'm getting my MA from. It seems to make that they make a very quick assumption that I must be damn brilliant to have gotten into my program. It took... another few minutes for academics to ask, "So... who are you working with?"

*facepalm* It's no lie. Academics are just as swayed by big-name schools as regular people. When I mentioned a possibility that's ranked in the 90's that has 2 well-known professors in my sub-fields, academics quickly think in their heads "Do I know someone there?" and then say aloud, "Who's there?" or if they have a really good buddy or this person is the "dean" of the subfield "Oh Superstar prof is there isn't he?!"

You're just going to get completely random reactions wherever you wind up. You should read the acknowledgments in their books or look up conference presentations to get a sense of who they know and who they've worked with. If you can't get this Superstar prof's "Facebook friends" figured out, then I would look at both programs carefully, especially their job placement. A good number of lesser-known schools have solid job placement thanks to a couple of big-name faculty members who served on dissertation committees, even if they're not the chair, and this includes your Superstar prof and perhaps another well-connected prof.

[LogicBomb]

I go to a big name school with a superstar for an adviser for my MA.

Sounds fabulous. But I'm actually having trouble smiling to people (academics AND non-academics) when they find out where I'm getting my MA from. It seems to make that they make a very quick assumption that I must be damn brilliant to have gotten into my program. It took... another few minutes for academics to ask, "So... who are you working with?"

*facepalm* It's no lie. Academics are just as swayed by big-name schools as regular people. When I mentioned a possibility that's ranked in the 90's that has 2 well-known professors in my sub-fields, academics quickly think in their heads "Do I know someone there?" and then say aloud, "Who's there?" or if they have a really good buddy or this person is the "dean" of the subfield "Oh Superstar prof is there isn't he?!"

You're just going to get completely random reactions wherever you wind up. You should read the acknowledgments in their books or look up conference presentations to get a sense of who they know and who they've worked with. If you can't get this Superstar prof's "Facebook friends" figured out, then I would look at both programs carefully, especially their job placement. A good number of lesser-known schools have solid job placement thanks to a couple of big-name faculty members who served on dissertation committees, even if they're not the chair, and this includes your Superstar prof and perhaps another well-connected prof.

In the States it is school. So many people publish and, especially in the Arts, there are quite a few sub-pockets who have their own superstars. In Canada, it is the opposite. If you work with a Canada Research Chair, chances are most people in your field will be aware of who he or she is. I am in Canada and applied to do my PHD at a smaller school. I had one professor dismissively ask me why I was going there and I replied that So and So agreed to supervise me. Said professor instantly changed their tone about my application.