When he graduates from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Guy P. Smoot hopes to become a professor.
A student in the comparative literature department, Smoot said he has found working with students rewarding as a teaching fellow at the College, particularly getting them excited about the material he teaches.
“I like to have an impact on the way people view the world,” Smoot said.
Smoot’s career aspiration is a common one among graduates of GSAS.
According to Garth O. McCavana, GSAS dean for Student Affairs, about 70 percent of the school’s 4,000 students go into academia each year, either by jumping directly into the professorial job market or by pursuing postdoctoral studies.
The goal for many graduate students is to eventually earn tenure, the guarantee of lifelong employment awarded by universities to their most valuable faculty members.
Most students spend anywhere from four to seven years pursuing their doctoral degrees and many wonder whether there are teaching jobs open for them once they graduate.
“The job market is not great at the moment,” McCavana said. “Our students are doing well, but it doesn’t mean everyone is landing their dream job.”
Of the 100 GSAS students interviewed by The Crimson, 48 said they hoped to pursue jobs in academia upon graduation.
For doctoral candidates in the humanities graduating from Harvard, the path to professorship is especially long, rocky, and uncertain—qualities that have only been worsened by the current economic climate.
INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS
The path to a tenure-track position is similar across most fields of academia.
A candidate’s published academic writings are key to the application process, as they serves as indicators of how the student will fare as a full-time scholar.
“Your publication record shows that you can finish things and get research done,” assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology Emily P. Balskus said. “It’s more the quality than the quantity, and [if] you really made a contribution to the research.”
Most departments require their graduate students to serve as teaching fellows even as they work on their dissertations.
Read more in News
City Council Supports Restroom in Cambridge CommonRecommended Articles
-
Heiresses Have Fun With ArsenicAs Teddy shouts "Charge!" and dashes off to consult his cabinet on the latest pressing issue of national security, Dr.
-
For GSAS Parents, a Baby Balancing ActSpeaking before an audience that boasted three babies, two strollers, a few toy trains, a miniature car, and about 30
-
GSAS Doubles Stipend and Time Off for New Parents
-
Conflicting Views Emerge on Impetus of GSAS BenefitsMembers of the unionization movement see a direct link between their efforts and the new changes coming out of GSAS. However, GSAS Dean for Student Affairs Garth O. McCavana stated that the improvements resulted from a reassessment of the program and from engaging collaboratively with graduate students.
-
Dudley Celebrates 25th Anniversary as Graduate Student CenterThis weekend Dudley House is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a center for graduate students at Harvard.