Advice on how to deal with a mediocre freshman year for Philosophy grad programs

[thanksbro]

Hey all,

 

This is my first time here, and I know very little about both forum norms and conventions for applying to grad school in philosophy, so I expect to be harsly censured for this question. With that said...

 

I just finished my freshman year, and while I can't say that my GPA is terrible, I'm not exactly happy with it either. I finished with slightly under a 3.5, with a B in a philosophy class I took my first semester and an A- in one that I took my second semester. I'm thinking that I want to spend the rest of my college career preparing to pursue philosophy in a serious way. However, I'm under the impression that it's next to impossible to get a tenure-track job without having attended an extremely prestigious phd program, especially in the humanities (e.g. this article http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2015/02/university_hiring_if_you_didn_t_get_your_ph_d_at_an_elite_university_good.html).While I hope to improve my grades as my college career continues, it's a bit unrealistic to expect straight As from now on, given my track record. Assuming that my future grades are about the same, is it even worth applying to grad school in philosophy if I want to work in academia? What are some next steps I can take to improve my prospects?

 

For what it's worth (which might not be that much), here are a few things that might affect how I appear as an applicant:

I. I plan to double major in either computer science or math.

II. My main philosophical interests (which I imagine will narrow as I become a more mature student) are in philosophy of mind, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, and political philosophy.

III. I go to a top small liberal arts college (think Williams or Swarthmore).

[maxhgns]

A few things:

 

*Your first year doesn't really matter, and you did fine anyway. One's grades are typically wonky in one's first year or two, and one actually tends to do better later on. Don't worry about it.

 

*While one should probably try to attend the most prestigious grad school one can (other things being equal), it's not quite true that the topmost schools have the best placement, and it's certainly not true that their grads don't also struggle on the job market.

 

*If you want to work in academia, then yeah, you basically need a PhD. But it's kind of early in your academic career to be thinking about that! Just take your time and enjoy yourself for the next couple years, then revisit the issue. There's no rush. In the meantime, just read widely (pursue your interests!), befriend the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and do your best to improve your paper writing skills. (If you have boatloads of time to spare and are feeling mighty keen, you could always go back and revise your term papers.) One general word of advice, for your university career: take the time to revise your work before handing it in. I don't just mean catching your typos: play with your structure, try to clarify your argument, etc. Treat your revision sessions as rewrite sessions.

[thanksbro]

Thanks for your comprehensive response! One question about something you said -- why would a less prestigious school have better placement than a more prestigious school, all else being equal (e.g. the less prestigious school is a better fit for your research interests)?

[maxhgns]

Thanks for your comprehensive response! One question about something you said -- why would a less prestigious school have better placement than a more prestigious school, all else being equal (e.g. the less prestigious school is a better fit for your research interests)?

 

 

Because faculty aren't hired based on the PGR rank of their doctoral institutions. 

 

 

Getting hired involves a hugely complex set of factors. Doctoral institution halo or rank is sometimes explicitly in play, but it doesn't outweigh other factors such as research productivity. Its main benefits come from mostly implicit associations. Publishing quality work in quality venues matters a lot more, as does wowing people in interviews and on campus visits, having a tenurable research agenda, being personable, having strong letters from reliable references, etc. Supervisors also have a lot more to do with placement than departments do, as a whole (in terms of introducing you to their networks, helping you with publishing and research, writing your letters, etc.).

 

Once you start investigating placement seriously (and there's no rush!), you'll start to get a sense of which departments place well and which don't. You'll also start to see that there are different kinds of placements, and some departments do a very good job of training their graduates for specific slices of the job market, but don't have much success with others. You'll notice that some supervisors place way more students than others, that some AOSes fare better, and that some AOSes from some schools fare better than the same AOSes from other schools.

 

Re-reading your question, however, it kind of sounds like maybe you meant to ask about why go to a lesser-ranked school, rather than ask about placement? If so, then the answer is relatively simple: for reasons of fit (with research interests, opportunities, student-supervisor ratios, etc.), money (follow it!), geography, and climate (in the department, not the geographical region; you probably want to avoid the departments that are racist, sexist, or which harbor sexual harassers), placement, and other such considerations. The trick is to make one's decision with one's eyes open--a move which, unfortunately, we're all woefully under-prepared to do until it's basically too late because we're nearly done. =)

[thanksbro]

Yes, that answered my question. Sorry if it was unclear -- I meant something along the lines of "If you are an equally good fit for two schools, one which is more prestigious, and one which is less prestigious, why would you want to go to the less prestigious one?" I wasn't aware that how well a particular school places can vary even within a department, and for reasons that have nothing to do with how well you fit there as an individual student.

 

Thanks, you've been a big help.

[jjb919]

I'd like to add something to maxhgns' great response. After speaking with a number of faculty at several schools, there is another reason why a less prestigious school might have a better placement record than a more prestigious one. The top ranked schools, generally speaking, focus on the main core areas of philosophy (LEMMings: Language, Epistemology, Mind, and Metaphysics). But that is not necessarily what the majority of hiring schools are looking for. Keep in mind that the majority of open TT positions are at smaller state and teaching colleges, not big R1 universities. It's often the case that these schools are looking for philosophers who work in different areas, especially if those areas can cross over with other departments. The top ranked schools graduate a lot of PhDs with similar areas of expertise, and not a whole lot of open positions are necessarily in those areas. Graduates from a less prestigious schools with AOCs in non-core areas (applied ethics, feminist philosophy, philosophy of race, environmental ethics, critical theory, etc.) might be more attractive because they can interact with the student body in a number of different modalities, not just through the philosophy department.

 

I'm not claiming that this is the sole or even main reason, or that it is true without exception, but it's something to consider.

 

I think it is unlikely that anyone would be an equally good fit for two schools that are largely different in prestige, but considering for a moment that the two are equal I agree with maxhgns that you need to look at the culture of the department, how happy the grad students are, the level of funding, the level of departmental support for things like conferences, mentor/mentee relations, whether the location (e.g. urban vs rural) is one you can be happy in for 5-7 years, and so on. It is highly unlikely that any two schools are going to be equal on all counts, and it is very possible that a less prestigious school would 'win out' on more of these factors and hence be the better choice.

 

But don't worry too much about all this just yet; focus on your classes, focus on figuring out your areas of interest. Start looking at potential grad schools in earnest during your junior year, and start laying the groundwork for your applications that spring. Develop relationships with good letter writers, identify your strongest possible writing sample and work like hell on it, study earnestly for the GRE and then once you take it don't worry about it any more, do enough research into potential schools and persons of interest that you can write a natural and convincing personal statement. Think far enough ahead that you aren't overloaded with stress the fall of your senior year, but no need to think too far ahead. Best of luck with the rest of your studies.