The Interfolio Blog

For many years, higher education systems in the US have relied heavily on the prestige of a school's name. Many have noted that students will stretch financial resources and programs of interest to attend a more well-known university. However, a lesser known phenomenon exists as well; that institutional prestige also holds true when educators seek employment in the higher ed sector. The name and status of a school is often a major factor during the application process, leading to mismatched professors and less successful tenure decisions at big and small universities alike.

When seeking employment in academia, it is important to think not only about the reputation of the school, but also what each school values in their faculty, what they look for when considering promotion and tenure, and what kinds of academics are attaining tenure at that institution. According to recent research published by the American Political Science Association, promotion and tenure decisions vary considerably and can have a major impact on the career choices of academics today. 

For example, if your passion is research and you have much less interest in teaching, large research universities granting Ph.Ds will likely suit you better. According to the survey, academics with prolific and successful research are allowed to use that work to compensate for their less successful teaching experience during tenure decisions at roughly 55% of doctoral institutions. Though many large research universities claim to place more and more value on teaching, the survey on tenure standards revealed that research is still the dominant contributor to a successful tenure decision at these kinds of institutions.

On the other hand, if your interests lie in teaching, then bachelor's institutions might be a better choice for you, as teaching skills are a major factor in these tenure decisions. While strong research can help bolster a candidate with weaker teaching skills, it cannot substitute completely. The survey found that at 64% of bachelor's institutions, superior teaching would compensate for limited research. In addition, tenure tends to be easier to obtain at smaller schools, allowing for increased stability in your academic career without the continuing pressure to produce research or publish books, if that is not your core area of expertise.

The survey also showed that there are compromise situations for academics who have equal interest in research and teaching expertise. If your interests fall somewhere in between teaching and research, then masters' institutions tend to be more suitable, as teaching and research are treated with relative equality. The survey also highlighted that departments denied tenure in the last 5 years at 15% of bachelor's, 26% of master's and 45% of doctoral institutions.

When seeking academic jobs, make sure you're thinking about what is important to you: teaching, research, tenure track? Choosing the right school for you, based on the goals and preferences of your career, will guarantee a greater opportunity for success and a better match between you and your employer.