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Hi folks,<br>
<br>
restricting PhD programs: Isn't that rather late? When you start
your PhD, you have already spent many years of studying. Then you
shall be told it was all worthless? Shouldn't we "discourage"
students at a much earlier date of their study, maybe before they
get their B.A.? There are not a lot of professional options these
days you get with a B.A. or M.A. in linguistics, are there? Some
counterexamples?<br>
<br>
Johannes<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:58C55BA3-4CC8-4467-8CA9-9D62D05BF438@bentley.edu"
type="cite">Folks,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I am posting this because linguistics is one of the
disciplines I think needs to consider this seriously. There are
too many academics in the liberal arts with no chance of
full-time, secure employment in the area in which they have done
their PhD.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I am not knocking the discipline. I just see too many folks
in the areas where I have lived looking for part-time employment
because they cannot get full-time work.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Dan</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><span style="color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: 'lucida
grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;
line-height: 14px; text-align: left; background-color:
rgb(255, 255, 255); ">A lot of what drives prestige
attribution in academics are rejection rates. Publishing in a
journal with a 95% rejection rate is usually more prestigious
than publishing in a journal with a 50% rejection rate.
Getting into a college or program with a high rejection rate
is usually more prestigious than getting into one</span><span
class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; color:
rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma,
verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height:
14px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);
"> with a lower rejection rate. <br>
<br>
So it is only natural that academics, enculturated into this
system, might believe that their department is better the more
applicants it gets for a position. Up to a point perhaps. But
if you are, as we had at places I have been in English
departments, Linguistics Departments, Philosophy Departments
and so on getting, say, hundreds of applications per position,
it isn't prestige that is involved. It is an ailing discipline
that needs to declare a moratorium on PhDs. Remember,
potential graduate students trust us. They will enter our
programs if they seem interesting, even if there is about zero
chance for them to get a good job. They do this because they
believe that you wouldn't have accepted them knowing they had
little chance of employment. <br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;
color: rgb(128, 128, 128); font-family: 'lucida grande',
tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;
line-height: 14px; text-align: left; background-color:
rgb(255, 255, 255); ">We need to think about this and talk
about it more as a discipline. One might make the case that
PhD students should not be admitted to programs who have less
than 95% employment rate in the subject of the PhD. Perhaps a
few points lower. At least perhaps we could consider a
moratorium on PhD admissions for lower-placement departments.</span></div>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
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