Applying to junior professors?

[nurye27]

Hey guys,

I have identified a couple of professors that I would love to apply to.

The thing is that many of them are really young assistant professors and I would guess they do not have much say in admission decisions. Or do they? How strategically smart is it to apply to such junior professors? Compared to those old senior professors, to what extent can junior professors pick their own students? Does anyone know how much junior professors participate in admission related decisions?

PS: BTW I'm in history, applying to PhD programs.

Edited October 27, 2009 by nurye27

[thepoorstockinger]

Hey guys,

I have identified a couple of professors that I would love to apply to.

The thing is that many of them are really young assistant professors and I would guess they do not have much say in admission decisions. Or do they? How strategically smart is it to apply to such junior professors? Compared to those old senior professors, to what extent can junior professors pick their own students? Does anyone know how much junior professors participate in admission related decisions?

What field are you in? Are you applying to MA or PhD programs?

[nurye27]

What field are you in? Are you applying to MA or PhD programs?

I'm in history, applying to PhD programs.

[rising_star]

Hey guys,

I have identified a couple of professors that I would love to apply to.

The thing is that many of them are really young assistant professors and I would guess they do not have much say in admission decisions. Or do they? How strategically smart is it to apply to such junior professors? Compared to those old senior professors, to what extent can junior professors pick their own students? Does anyone know how much junior professors participate in admission related decisions?

PS: BTW I'm in history, applying to PhD programs.

The answers to your questions really depend on the school. At some schools, junior profs are involved, at others they aren't. Sometimes individual professors get to pick their students, other times decisions are made by a committee. At some schools, applications go through both (ie, adcom selects top applicants and then forwards those along to the professors named in the application).

Your best bet is to present a competitive application that will entice someone that isn't in your subfield. The only other thing to worry about is whether the assistant professor will be able to get tenure and what will you do if s/he does not.

[fuzzylogician]

This is probably one of those things that change from department to department and maybe even from year to year. Junior faculty do sit on admissions committees and do have a say in choosing applicants. However, there's no telling if in your specific department a senior member can veto a choice, or who exactly will be involved in the choice in a given year.

Generally, though, do you apply to the department as a whole, or are you supposed to identify a specific mentor who chooses you as their advisee? Committees are supposed to seek out students who will fit the department as a whole, not just their own specific likes/dislikes. But, of course, if you're aiming for a specific faculty member and they're on the committee and like you, that can only help. I don't know a good way to find out who's on the committee though.