Timeline for an engineering Ph.D. teaching math in college
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
24 events
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| Apr 6, 2019 at 10:55 | review | Close votes | |||
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| Dec 4, 2017 at 8:16 | review | Close votes | |||
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| Oct 26, 2017 at 5:48 | review | Close votes | |||
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| Feb 1, 2015 at 20:34 | history | protected | François G. Dorais | ||
| Sep 10, 2010 at 16:34 | answer | added | Keith Sinkhorn | timeline score: 7 | |
| Sep 10, 2010 at 2:10 | comment | added | KConrad | Consistent with Victor's comment, I know of some institutions he didn't mention where the math courses below calculus are taught nearly exclusively by adjuncts or graduate students, not regular faculty (except perhaps as a course coordinator). | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 20:44 | comment | added | Victor Protsak | Sleepless, from my experience at the University of Minnesota and University of Oklahoma, your comment may be true about courses below calculus level: they are taught by graduate students, adjuncts, lecturers and visiting faculty. However, I've heard that at other schools (LSU) regular faculty also teach them. Conversely, all courses Calculus level and above were taught by PhDs, although at many other schools grad students/lecturers do teach small sections of Calculus. Very few math professors don't teach undergraduates at all (for example, because they hold endowed research professorships). | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 14:56 | comment | added | Andy Putman | @sleepless : That isn't my experience. At all the institutions I've spent time at (Chicago, MIT, and Rice), most of the research-active faculty teach undergraduates on a regular basis. | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 13:07 | answer | added | Thierry Zell | timeline score: 5 | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 11:55 | answer | added | Brendan Foreman | timeline score: 6 | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 4:22 | comment | added | sleepless in beantown | @Pete Clark, I limited my comment above purely for teaching at the community college level, the two-year teaching system designed to get students in the door at the 4-year universities. At the level of a research institution, I agree with you that you should be taught by someone with the appropriate Ph.D. qualification. How many adjunct professors does your institution hire to teach at the undergraduate level? Most research-grade professors often do not lecture or teach undergraduate courses, leaving it to the Teaching Assistants and interim Adjunct hires. | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 3:31 | comment | added | Pete L. Clark | @sleepless: I understand you are describing things as they are, not necessarily as they should be, but: for my part, I would much rather hire someone with a PhD in engineering and proven success teaching math at the college level than someone with a master's degree in math and no PhD in anything. I wonder if getting this extra master's degree would even be very helpful. | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 2:37 | comment | added | sleepless in beantown | Community colleges will let you teach with a Masters level degree in the adequate subject. Perhaps your friend could obtain such a degree in order to teach. | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 2:32 | answer | added | sleepless in beantown | timeline score: 11 | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 0:45 | comment | added | Ryan Budney | I certainly know people teaching mathematics at universities who do not have a Ph.D (some not in math, some not in any subject). Moreover, many schools (including U.Victoria, where I work) have tenure-track processes for senior instructors, meaning non-research focused faculty. So I think the answer really depends on the school and their hiring practices more than anything else. | |
| Sep 9, 2010 at 0:42 | history | edited | KConrad | CC BY-SA 2.5 |
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| Sep 8, 2010 at 23:52 | answer | added | Thierry Zell | timeline score: 6 | |
| Sep 8, 2010 at 23:37 | history | edited | KConrad | CC BY-SA 2.5 |
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| Sep 8, 2010 at 23:15 | answer | added | Johnson-Leung | timeline score: 6 | |
| Sep 8, 2010 at 23:14 | comment | added | KConrad | Gerhard: That's a good idea for him to write to a few schools and check, although I think many places might choose to encourage an applicant to apply even if it's unlikely to lead to an interview. Jeff: This person hasn't been doing mathematical research in the current teaching position, hence it is schools whose main mission is teaching (vaguely defined) where he will be applying. The legal issue about having to abide strictly by the qualifications in the ad is exactly one of the things I had in mind as a reason his Ph.D. not in math might be a source of problems for him. | |
| Sep 8, 2010 at 23:03 | comment | added | Stopple | I think the question is kind of vague. "teaching schools" and "schools that focus more on teaching" could mean anything from a 2 year community college to an elite liberal arts 4 year school. These days many places that have a math major will want someone who can mentor undergraduate research. Most public institutions will be legally bound by the advertisement. Particularly since the friend seems to be male, the affirmative action office will raise the question of why women in the pool with math PhDs were overlooked. Finally, lots of unemployed math PhDs have fantastic teaching evals. | |
| Sep 8, 2010 at 22:38 | comment | added | Unreasonable Sin | I would think that an applied mathematics or statistics position would be less stringent about the degree requirements than a pure math position. | |
| Sep 8, 2010 at 22:19 | comment | added | Gerhard Paseman | Ask some of the employers at the tenure track schools. They are likely to give the best answers to the question. Further, you or he should be able to ask them such a question without penalty. Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2010.09.08 | |
| Sep 8, 2010 at 21:46 | history | asked | KConrad | CC BY-SA 2.5 |