Better department versus renowned but unhelpful advisor

[ephemeral]

Hi all,

I am torn between two departments.

First is good with professors who are working in the same line of research I want to work on, but they are mostly old (60 to 65+). Not sure if they would be around for too long. I don't find the research profiles of the younger professors very interesting.... yet!

Second is slightly lower-ranked department but I really LOVE the work of two people working there, and who are renowned in the field. They aren't young and aren't old either... say, around 40-year-old associate professors. However, they have the reputation of not giving a ton of time to their students and expecting way too much from them.

Considering these two factors only, do you think the latter program would be worth it?

[unwelded]

What is the reputation of the first program? You saying your two potential POI’s are old and that younger scholars aren’t doing cutting edge work could be something to consider if this is a widely held perspective. Try to parse through reputation vs online rankings (which aren’t as helpful). Also, the great fit of the two advisors at the second school sounds like it could be promising. You should speak to more students and see if they’re simply hard to get a hold of sometimes or if they’re completely inaccessible. If it’s the former, it shouldn’t be an issue-it’s just a matter of your capacity to be intentional in curating your relationship with them. 

[ephemeral]

Thanks for the response! The first department is historically ranked only a bit higher than the second one. But, the university as a whole, the first is more prestigious.

That impression of the professors being hard to get a hold of, comes from talking with two of their students and my advisor who is one of the professors' research collaborator. One of the students said that that could be a great trait though, that they push you hard, and make you more independent of a researcher.

Edited April 9, 2020 by ephemeral

[Whitley]

I may be wrong. I sometimes will also check phd placement. The placement can explain the reputation and scholarship of a phd program from certain perspectives. Of course it is important to join a good research team, but if you pursue a career in academia, you probably want to check their placement. A tenure track position could somehow secure your future academic life after you obtain your doctor title.