How Important is Prestige for CC/JC Positions?

[Nozistin]

Generally, I guess my question is does university prestige matter a lot if we are looking to teach at a community college? Would it even help much?

 

I'm currently in the process of preparing to apply to some Political Science PH.D programs for the 2017 academic year. I think I'm in an OK position to be competitive for some top 20 programs (3.75GPA from Berkeley, some research experience, decent LOR opportunities) but I'm not in a good or great place and am not super optimistic about doing well on the GRE. Assuming I don't kill it, my chances for some top programs are slightly slim but think I can land a spot at UC Davis, UCSB, or USC for example (hoping to stay in California). Are my chances of landing a CC job much slimmer if I went to one of the high mid-tier institution compared to my chances if I went to UCSD, Duke, or UofW (probably the top programs I can get into)?

 

If ya'll have any idea or advice it would be great. Of course I would go to the best school I can and will try applying to a range of programs that I think fit but I'd like to know if these programs are even worse applying to or if I should put all my chips into a Top 20 because anything under that puts me in a bad place after graduation.

Thanks in advance.

[another_time]

It is probably much less of a factor than acquiring teaching experience and fitting the needs of the department you are applying to.  CCs tend to feed into 4-year institutions locally first, then within their state second.  If you are applying for CCC jobs, I would think that going to school in the state would be a positive since the CSU & UC systems are pretty extensive.  Getting TA or teaching experience in core lower division courses is also probably going to be way more of an important factor, since those are the classes you would be teaching.  I really don't think that where you get your PhD is gonna be the deciding factor at a community college job search.  

Edited May 11, 2016 by another_time

[Nozistin]

Thanks! That's helpful to know. I know CC positions are still hard to come by but that seems about right and makes me feel a bit more sure about going to a slightly less ranked school. Most of the UC are great in their own right but I know a degree from UCSB or Irvine won't put you in a great place for an R1 or big 4-year job but if they mean I have a good shot a teaching at a CC in California in a TT job I would be happy to go their.

 

[wb3060]

Actually, if that's your goal, you would be better served going to a lower ranked school that places a greater emphasis on teaching. The higher ranked the school, the greater the focus will be on research and publishing. This is certainly true at any top-20 school. I would look in the 20-50 range, and specifically inquire about preparation for a CC job and teaching opportunities as a grad student on visit days and open houses.