By Robert L. Oprisko, Kirstie L. Dobbs, and Joseph DiGrazia Graduate school is a period of apprenticeship that aspiring academics must pass through before they may enter the professoriate. When selecting a graduate program, prospective students may factor in institutional and departmental rank, geography, the financial cost/benefit analysis, the appeal of professors’ research, and opportunities specific to […]
Pushing Up Ivies: Institutional Prestige and the Academic Caste System
By Robert L. Oprisko, Kirstie Lynn Dobbs, and Joseph DiGrazia Not all university professors are equal; they are not all peers. In academic hiring, candidates are often evaluated almost entirely upon their research output rather than their teaching prowess or service. Using Oprisko’s procedural theory of honor, we can understand the hierarchic nature of academia as […]