Listing Non-Tenured Faculty in SOP?

[TeamCoco-Bollo]

Hey Everyone,

What are your feelings on listing non-tenured faculty, or assistant professors, in your SOP? I'm sure that such professors are tenure-track, they still are relatively new to the institution and, perhaps, unproven. Also, the horrific possibility of their tenure being denied and you losing your mentor.

Thoughts?

[waddle]

I'm sure that such professors are tenure-track, they still are relatively new to the institution and, perhaps, unproven. Also, the horrific possibility of their tenure being denied and you losing your mentor.

What's wrong with that? Isn't the point that their successful mentoring of you, their Ph.D. student, will help them get tenure?

[LJK]

It's a calculated risk. You never really know what you are going to get with an advisor: Assistant professors are likely to be working their butts off and will be heavily invested in whether you in particular do well - it indicates they are doing well. They are likely to push you to publish and do a lot of research. They could be doing some trial and error as far as advising goes but you can seek out more established professors and further along graduate students to augment the advising. Associate professors could be taking it easier now that they have tenure, or they could be completely jazzed to be mentoring young scholars. Full professors could be jazzed, maintain a distance from advisees, or could mainly write non-peer reviewed chapters and books, not needing to publish for advancement. The hiring committee and department saw something in the assistant professor that they thought would lead to a tenured colleague. My strategy was to apply to work with the 10 PIs (I know its a lot but everyone told me I was crazy when I was down to 6) that are most interesting to me, regardless of rank/tenure/school/lab size/etc. should I be lucky enough to have multiple interviews and even multiple acceptances, I will try to find out as much about the labs I would be working in and the advisor I would be working under as possible. (I know that it is a bit different for English than for Psych but I think the general philosophy applies).

Also, assistant professors generally are at a school for 6 years prior to tenure. If you are applying to work with a brand new prof, they are likely to be there for the 5 years of a phd program (well, that is the standard time in my field). If you are applying to work with a prof who is a few years in, you can gauge for yourself how well they are doing, at least as far as publishing goes. If you are seriously considering a school where an assistant prof is who you would want to work with, see if you can identify a second prof who could be your 'replacement' advisor should the first one not get tenure.

I think it is definitely something to think about, but I would definitely put them on your SOP. Also, a new prof's lab/advisee group might be 'easier' to get accepted to... they won't yet have 'their share' of students.

[TeamCoco-Bollo]

It's a calculated risk. You never really know what you are going to get with an advisor: Assistant professors are likely to be working their butts off and will be heavily invested in whether you in particular do well - it indicates they are doing well. They are likely to push you to publish and do a lot of research. They could be doing some trial and error as far as advising goes but you can seek out more established professors and further along graduate students to augment the advising. Associate professors could be taking it easier now that they have tenure, or they could be completely jazzed to be mentoring young scholars. Full professors could be jazzed, maintain a distance from advisees, or could mainly write non-peer reviewed chapters and books, not needing to publish for advancement. The hiring committee and department saw something in the assistant professor that they thought would lead to a tenured colleague. My strategy was to apply to work with the 10 PIs (I know its a lot but everyone told me I was crazy when I was down to 6) that are most interesting to me, regardless of rank/tenure/school/lab size/etc. should I be lucky enough to have multiple interviews and even multiple acceptances, I will try to find out as much about the labs I would be working in and the advisor I would be working under as possible. (I know that it is a bit different for English than for Psych but I think the general philosophy applies).

Also, assistant professors generally are at a school for 6 years prior to tenure. If you are applying to work with a brand new prof, they are likely to be there for the 5 years of a phd program (well, that is the standard time in my field). If you are applying to work with a prof who is a few years in, you can gauge for yourself how well they are doing, at least as far as publishing goes. If you are seriously considering a school where an assistant prof is who you would want to work with, see if you can identify a second prof who could be your 'replacement' advisor should the first one not get tenure.

I think it is definitely something to think about, but I would definitely put them on your SOP. Also, a new prof's lab/advisee group might be 'easier' to get accepted to... they won't yet have 'their share' of students.

Well put. This kind of decided it for me. Woot for the help!

[Strangefox]

By the way, could anybody explain to me how do I know if a prof is tenured or tenure-track or non-tenure-track? (In my country tenure is non-existant so I am trying to understand the whole thing now).

Basically, what I need to know is - is and an assistant professor tenure-tack? And what about an associate professor?

I thought that assistant = not tenure-tack and associate = tenure-tack. Also, a lecturer is not tenure-tack. Am I right?

And full professors already have tenure, right??

[TeamCoco-Bollo]

By the way, could anybody explain to me how do I know if a prof is tenured or tenure-track or non-tenure-track? (In my country tenure is non-existant so I am trying to understand the whole thing now).

Basically, what I need to know is - is and an assistant professor tenure-tack? And what about an associate professor?

I thought that assistant = not tenure-tack and associate = tenure-tack. Also, a lecturer is not tenure-tack. Am I right?

And full professors already have tenure, right??

Found this, which may help:

These full-time faculty members engage in both undergraduate and graduate teaching, mentoring, research, and service. Only faculty in these positions are eligible for tenure.

• Assistant professor: An introductory level professor. A position generally taken after receiving PhD and/or completing a post-doctoral fellowship. After 4–8 years, assistant professors will be either tenured or dismissed from the university.
• Associate professor: A mid-level, usually tenured, professor.
• Professor (sometimes referred to as "full professor"): a senior, tenured professor.
• Distinguished professor / endowed chair (e.g., "the John Q. Smith Professor of Physics"): An honorary position in which a full professor's salary is increased by being tied to an endowment derived from the university, private individuals, firms, or foundations.

[Strangefox]

Found this, which may help:

These full-time faculty members engage in both undergraduate and graduate teaching, mentoring, research, and service. Only faculty in these positions are eligible for tenure.

• Assistant professor: An introductory level professor. A position generally taken after receiving PhD and/or completing a post-doctoral fellowship. After 4–8 years, assistant professors will be either tenured or dismissed from the university.
• Associate professor: A mid-level, usually tenured, professor.
• Professor (sometimes referred to as "full professor"): a senior, tenured professor.
• Distinguished professor / endowed chair (e.g., "the John Q. Smith Professor of Physics"): An honorary position in which a full professor's salary is increased by being tied to an endowment derived from the university, private individuals, firms, or foundations.

Thanks a lot!!!