Grad students who weren’t schooled at elite universities face real challenges in a squeezed academic job market. But many talented grad students do reach tenure when they receive the same support and guidance offered in elite universities.
by Georgina Holmes & Bridging the Gap | 6 Jul 2021 | Bridging the Gap, Featured, Symposia, Things I Wish I'd Known in Grad School
Grad students who weren’t schooled at elite universities face real challenges in a squeezed academic job market. But many talented grad students do reach tenure when they receive the same support and guidance offered in elite universities.
by Consuelo Thiers | 25 Aug 2023 | Academia
Current trends in the academic job market paint a bleak picture. Data from U.S. universities reveal a drop in job postings in the Politics field over the past three years and a decline in tenure-track positions over the last decade. For 2021-22, APSA reported that 53.12% of job listings were non-tenure track. Meanwhile, in the UK, 54% of academic job advertisements across disciplines were for fixed-term positions. With an excess of PhD...
by Aniruddha Saha | 10 Mar 2022 | Academia
The COVID-19 virus scrambled the plans of social scientists whose research depends on field work, including many who use and reflexive methods. It became almost impossible to do research that depends on face-to-face interviews, personal interactions, and participant observations. It's difficult to imagine how someone like Elisabeth Jean Wood, who spent months in El Salvador (in a conflict zone, no less), could do inspiring field research during...
by Adam B. Lerner | 18 Feb 2022 | Academia, Interviews
The academy is traditionally a place students and scholars go to hone their critical faculties. But perhaps, in some cases, we take this critical approach too far. In this Quack-and-Forth, Adam B. Lerner and Jarrod Hayes discuss academic grudges and whether the academy would be a kinder or gentler place if we all acted a bit more like Larry Bird (and a bit less like Larry David).
by Dan Nexon | 30 Jan 2022 | Academia
How do colleges and universities go about hiring tenure-line (or the equivalent) faculty in politics and international relations? Back in 2013, I provided a short overview of the typical U.S. process: Starting in the late summer, political-science departments post position announcements with the American Political Science Association. Most job hunters read those announcements on e-jobs and decide whether or not to apply.Prospective hires send...
by Stephan Sander-Faes | 22 Nov 2021 | Academia
Willardson and Sullivan’s recent article here provided numerous useful tips for Americans who want to “profess abroad.” They also asked scholars outside the United States to weigh in with thoughts. As a European, I thought I’m a good position to furnish relevant information for those who may be a considering an academic career in Europe. I am from Austria, although my entire academic career has taken place outside my home country. I taught for...
by Rebecca Tapscott | 17 Nov 2021 | Academia
Many MA programs at so-called professional schools of international affairs require students to complete a thesis. The purpose of this is not always clear-cut for students in terminal and interdisciplinary degree programs. Having supervised dozens of students in this pursuit, I have a few thoughts about how you can tackle some of the thorny practicalities of thesis writing, and make the experience as beneficial for yourself as possible. Coming...
by Adam B. Lerner | 7 Nov 2021 | Academia, Featured, Various and Sundry
Academics depend on slow processes subject to unfortunate slowdowns. And, unfortunately, academic timelines can make or break careers.
by Adam B. Lerner | 8 Sep 2021 | Academia, Featured
Many of academia’s core institutions are ‘held together by masking tape and pixie dust.’ But do they also rely on fantastical notions of academic karma?
by Spencer Willardson & Charles J. Sullivan | 4 Aug 2021 | Academia, Featured
If there's one thing that American political scientists agree about, it's that the U.S. "job market" is pretty brutal. It's not uncommon for junior scholars to bounce between postdocs and visiting positions before getting a tenure-track job or a stable non-tenure-track position – or before throwing in the towel and leaving academia entirely. Still others join the ranks of contingent faculty. With stagnation in the market for tenure-track...
by Cullen Hendrix | 19 Aug 2020 | Academia, Bridging the Gap, Featured
Photo courtesy of the European Union. Used under Creative Commons License. This is a guest post by William Akoto, a postdoctoral researcher jointly appointed at the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security & Diplomacy at the Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, and the One Earth Future Foundation. In the fall, he will begin a tenure-track appointment at Fordham University. ...
by Bridging the Gap | 2 Jul 2020 | Academia, Bridging the Gap, Gender
This post, part of the Bridging the Gap channel, is written by Rosella Cappella Zielinski, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Boston University and non-resident fellow at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creativity at Marine Corps University. She is an alumna of BTG’s International Policy Summer Institute. For those of us figuring out how to navigate our...