Is it OK to ask Prof. is he about to retire/move?

[Ignat]

So there is this prof. at one of the programs I got into, that I'm really interesting to work with (same regional and substantial interests). I didn't contacted him before. However, his Ph.D. is from late 1970, which means he is probably near retirment. Is it OK to ask him how many years he plans to stick around and if I can have him on my committee? If so, what is the best way to do so? I probably will choose his dep. in any case, but I would like to have this information. 

On related subject, there are other (younger) profs. that I want to know if their will remain at the department for the next 5-6 years. Is it OK to ask? I cannot come to the open day (intl. applicant) so e-mail is the only option. If I was in their shoes and wanted to move on, I wouldn't sure if I liked to share this info with prospective grad student...

[yaygrad]

Rude to ask about retirement as you are implying s/e is old. Better to phrase it as "do you plan on staying in the department?" "Do you see yourself chairing committees over the next 5 years?" etc. 

[rising_star]

@yaygrad's advice about how to ask the older professor is right on track, though I'd only use the second question.

Asking people whether they plan on staying in the department is a dicey question. For those without tenure, it assumes that they will get tenure, which they can't know. It also assumes that people are happy where they are. In reality, few faculty know whether they'll be in the same department in 5-6 years for all sorts of reasons. My dissertation advisor never said he might be leaving until he was actually considering leaving (he was being headhunted by other top departments, which isn't uncommon for good faculty). So, even if they say they will remain, that doesn't mean they actually will.

[Syas]

You could tell him that you are committed to stay at school, and you would love to have him at your committee, and then you could ask him whether he had any specific plans for the next 5-6 years. Hopefully his response would help you clarify your agenda without raising the subject of retirement.

[elw]

It's fine to ask, senior and junior faculty. These are legitimate concerns for graduate students.

[GradSchoolTruther]

No, it's not fine to ask. There should always be someone else who could be your advisor.

[elw]

9 minutes ago, GradSchoolTruther said:

No, it's not fine to ask. There should always be someone else who could be your advisor.

Whether there are other potential advisors is extraneous to the topic at hand, which is whether it is impolite to ask if a particular faculty member plans to remain at the institution.

Edited February 24, 2016 by elw

[fuzzylogician]

It's fine to ask junior and senior faculty, but don't expect everyone to be completely honest, and don't expect them to even know. They might think they'll be there now but then e.g. a change in health or other personal circumstances (or for younger faculty: being recruited by another university, change in a spouse's employment status, tenure decisions, etc) might cause a change of plans. Beyond that, even if they do have a plan, if they haven't shared it with the administration and their colleagues yet, they will probably not be interested in sharing it with prospective students. So asking "will your retire in the next 5 years" or some version of that isn't as effective in getting you the information you are after as "Do you see yourself chairing committees over the next 5 years?". And beyond asking the faculty themselves, you could also ask students if they have any reason to believe that the faculty might retire. But at the end of the day, accept that you won't have perfect information on this question.

[AmericanQuant]

This is a totally appropriate question to ask to anyone in the department.  Mid-career people sometimes burn out on advising or go into administration, or learn that they are crappy advisers. Old people retire. Young people don't get tenure.  It's always legit.  Just make sure you ask in a polite way.

I'd suggest, "Are you taking new students right now?" Or, "What sorts of working relationships do you develop with students?"

[AmericanQuant]

6 hours ago, GradSchoolTruther said:

No, it's not fine to ask. There should always be someone else who could be your advisor.

There's some wisdom here.  If just one person would make or break a school for you, you shouldn't go.  But if you are on the fence, knowing about the intentions of one person can make all the difference.

[brent09]

Yes, it's perfectly okay to ask. In fact, you absolutely should ask.