Question about Potential Adviser for History PhD

[MtBerg]

Hello all,

I am in the process of applying to several history PhD programs, but there is one specific application that I am a bit confused about. There is a professor doing research that is as close to my own interests as I have found, yet this professor is an associate professor at the university's relevant regional studies program, and merely an adjunct associate professor of history (although this professor's focus is 100% history). I know that adjunct professors generally cannot be advisers, but since this person is a a full time professor in a related department, is it likely that they could be my adviser for a history PhD? I have already reached out but have not yet received a response. I am planning on applying either way, but I am starting to get a bit anxious about it.

 

[AP]

I think it could be possible in *certain* institutions for adjuncts to be advisors, maybe in small departments where most tenured professors are retiring soon and/or with too many students.

That said, I'd err on the no side. This professor can be your advisor later on (committees change a lot once you get in: people get hired, people move, etc). So, if this professor gets hired for a tenure line later on, they can be your advisor even though you did not mention them in your SoP. The SoP sets nothing to stone. 

I imagine that you have contacted faculty in this university? Have they hinted at something? 

[ploutarchos]

If this person is really an associate professor in the regional studies program, and is listed as an "adjunct associate" professor of history, probably he/she has a 0%-time courtesy appointment in the history department, while being a (tenured) associate professor in the regional studies program. In this scenario, the "adjunct" title wouldn't mean what it usually means (that is, contingent faculty, no tenure, no job security, probably no graduate teaching/supervision, etc.). But there would still be a question of whether this person could be the primary advisor for students in other departments. You should probably just write and ask. Or if the person's CV is available online, it may have information about past dissertations directed.

Edited November 18, 2017 by ploutarchos

[TMP]

I'm erring on the no side as well.  Is there another person who is  tenured in the history department with whom you'd like to have as an adviser?  If you don't get a response before the application deadline, kindly frame your statement as that  you are open to working with several faculty members without necessarily shining the flashlight on this particular individual.  The professors can decide among themselves who will be your official adviser if they choose to accept you.

[VAZ]

I had a similar experience back in August. I really like a professor tenured in a non-history department, but she is also an affiliated (rather than jointly appointed) professor in History. I asked the history DGS if she could serve as my supervisor or co-supervisor. The answer was an absolute NO: The affiliated professors could be field examiners or dissertation committee members,  but the supervisor(s) must come from the core faculty in History. Then I went to a history core professor who shares topical and temporal interests with me but not geographical. I mentioned that the other professor could help with the languages and the geographical region, but he still declined to take me. I talked with that non-history professor later in person, and she said she could do nothing about it. And I don't feel like applying to the PhD program of her host department. Therefore, I've completely given up on that university.

The policy may vary from school to school though.