Higher Ranking vs. Specialists in Field

[BirdBrain]

Hello everyone,

I've received a few admits so far, and have narrowed my current choice down to two programs, both for PhD:

University A (ranked ~15-25 in field)

University B (ranked ~40-50 in field)

When deciding, is it best to go to the highest ranked institution you can? Or to go to a school that has 'famous' people in the topic you'd like to study, even if that school is not ranked as high as one might like? I have a strong inclination now for the exact topic I'd like to study, though this could certainly change---I'm the type of person who loves whatever field I've learned most recently. Even so, I have a feeling that I would really love this topic.

Unfortunately, there is only professor working in this topic at University A, and he does not seem too well known (in that he has not published papers with known professors working in this topic). This is a great school for many other areas, though, and it has a name recognition factor. Placement coming from University A seems to be great; many graduates go off to top 10 institutions for postdoc work.

University B, however, has three strong professors working in this topic, and one who could be considered 'famous' in the field. Two of them regularly publish with well-known professors, and they both received their PhD's under 'famous' people. Placement records don't seem to be published for this program, so I could not get a sense for this.

What do you think? How do you make this type of decision? Also, I'll be visiting both programs to get a feel for the departments.

Thank you all!

Edited February 23, 2012 by BirdBrain

[wheatGrass]

I anticipate (hope to) have the same dilemma, curious to hear what other people have to say.

In addition to the situation described above, I felt an excellent connection with two POIs at my school B and just a very good connection with a more well known but maybe too busy POI at my school A. My school A has a very big department so I would meet lots of like-minded people, and it is in a nice, accessible location. School B has several real experts in my anticipated field but it is a much smaller department, so beyond that little group, I don't know how many other people with the same general interests I'd meet. It is also in a crappy location which would require a long commute. For that reason, I'm guessing there might be less of a community--people might opt to work from home more often.

[anthropologygeek]

It depends on your field. My field you go with the best prof in the field but I know other fields that rank is the only thing that matters

[Arya Underfoot]

My advice would be to contact professors at B and determine if they 1) might be interested in taking you on, and 2) have had many of their PhD's place into the kind of jobs you are looking for. Make sure that B has a large enough department that you have other options if your research interests change. I have yet to start my PhD program, but from everything I've heard and read your PI is enough to make or break your experience.

As a side note, name recognition is only a consideration if you plan on going into the private sector where the hiring committees are less familiar with important people/departments from academia.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Arya Underfoot

[fes_alum]

BirdBrain - Don't forget that you will need to form a doctoral committee consisting of five or more faculty members. With only one faculty member specializing in your area of interest at University A, will it be possible to form a committee who can support your research and/or is familiar with your topic?

[BirdBrain]

Fes_Alum: Right, that would definitely pose a problem. If I do go to University A, I would likely change my specific are of focus. My field is mathematics, and there are many topics I could see myself studying in the long run, though at the moment I am inclined to study algebraic topology. Whatever school I attend, I will make sure to choose an area that both interests me and that has strong faculty representation.

Edited February 23, 2012 by BirdBrain