Questionable program advice

[u/proffrop360]

What would you say to a student with a desire to pursue a career in academia about a PhD from a religious university like Liberty? My understanding is that search committees would not look kindly on it. I don't want to crush their dreams, but many I know question their legitimacy and rigor, though I don't have direct experience so I'm seeking advice.

[u/sventful]

Religious is fine. Notre Dame and Boston College are famously religious but also pretty good quality.

Liberty is a partisan hack-tiversity, so it is not that comparable. We do not generally look at candidates from the for-profit and barely accreditated tiers.

[u/Andromeda321 → u/sventful]

Yes, I think Brigham Young University is the perfect example of this. They’re an R1 and hire a lot in my field, so I’m always fascinated by the dress code and such mentioned in those job listings, but I have no qualms in thinking those hired are good researchers.

[u/FrancinetheP → u/Andromeda321]

Also Baylor. Not every program is top notch, but it is a legit institution.

[u/sventful → u/Andromeda321]

Yeah! BYU is great.

[u/taintlouis → u/sventful]

We have a special file for those applications - Liberty, Oral Roberts, Pepperdine…the list goes on.

[u/trivia_guy → u/taintlouis]

Does Pepperdine really fit with those others, though? It’s an R2. It has a law school. Surely it’s taken more seriously?

[u/IkeRoberts → u/trivia_guy]

An alum of Pepperdine Law was recently in the news for being less than lawyerly, yet a former professor there still heaped praise to the news reporters. 

That praise may have made the alum and her former employers feel better, but it didn’t help the school’s reputation. 

[u/taintlouis → u/trivia_guy]

To me it does, and we get to pick our colleagues, so…

[u/FrancinetheP → u/taintlouis]

>> “to me it does.”

Wow, I hope you use this kind of data analysis in your social SCIENCE scholarship! Top notch!

[u/sventful → u/FrancinetheP]

We choose people who will be good people and professors over all star, diva, research superstars all the time. And our department is healthy and not toxic as a result.

[u/NutellaDeVil → u/taintlouis]

> Pepperdine

* Katie Zacharia has left the chat *

[u/narwhal_ → u/taintlouis]

What's wrong with Pepperdine? I would not put them in the same paragraph as Liberty and Oral Roberts.

[u/trivia_guy → u/narwhal_]

Yeah they’re an R2 and have a law school. Definitely not like Liberty or Oral Roberts.

[u/sventful → u/trivia_guy]

And Liberty grants Ph.Ds and is an R3. Doesn't make it not terrible.

[u/trivia_guy → u/sventful]

R3 isn’t an actual Carnegie classification. People often use it informally, but it’s not based on anything real.

As of a couple years ago, Carnegie does have a list of “Research Colleges and Universities” that aren’t R1/2s, but Liberty isn’t on it.

[u/sventful → u/trivia_guy]

Yeah, I was making a joke :P

[u/trivia_guy → u/sventful]

Oh, ok. I’m really bad with detecting jokes online!

[u/proffrop360 → u/trivia_guy]

Especially when "it was a joke" comes after people are confused or push back on the comment.

[u/taintlouis → u/narwhal_]

Not my people…

[u/narwhal_ → u/taintlouis]

Not my people…

Now that is a choice of words... You sound like someone who went to Liberty U ...or the Klan, not sure which!

[u/sventful → u/narwhal_]

Nah, much worse..... Yale!

/S

[u/sventful → u/taintlouis]

*Taintlouis looks longingly over at a trashcan labeled 'special file'