<p>i've heard more than enough from people who are in academia (including people who have been on a prof selection committee) that if i want to become a professor, i must have all my degrees in one field. saying, BS in computer science and Ph.D in bioinformatics, or BS in electrical engineering and Ph.D in biomedical engineering, or BS in english and Ph.D in history would eliminate any chance of becoming a professor.
(unless i'd become a super star researcher; i know im not that smart or motivated)</p>
<p>their reasons are ... reasonable. because professors, especially young ones, have to teach undergrad. and (i guess at least professors i talk to) that seems to be very important for universities.</p>
<p>is there anyone who has much experience and opinion on this subject? obviously i know more than a few professors who obtained a ph.d. in a different subject and whatnot, but i heard back that that's just because they are extraordinary and lucky and demanded at that time. any professors in this forum?</p>
<p>i hope you know what i am saying. i am not albert and i want to become a professor. should i stick with the same major (even if i dont think my current major is my favorite - again they say undergrads dont like their own majors because they get sick of it but its same same in any displine.)?</p>
<p>the answer is no. it is quite normal for professors to do undergrad and graduate work in different fields (but somewhat related ie. chemical engineering <--> materials science engineering; electrical engineering <--> computer engineering; english <--> history; math <--> computer science; math <--> economics; etc etc.</p>
<p>I would have to say that sometimes it is a bit more difficult to switch fields (even between cognate fields) in the humanities. Sometimes, depending on the field, and depending on the specific graduate program, there is a bias in the graduate admissions process against students without a major in the field.</p>
<p>For instance, in my field, we look askance at applicants without exposure to method and theory in that field, and wonder how a student would even know if they are able to do graduate level work in that field without such preparation. (Depending on the undergraduate institution, such M&T preparation is often only available to majors.) </p>
<p>Having said that, admission of students with majors in cognate fields does happen. It just does not happen a lot.</p>
<p>Professor X, i am not talking about the graduate school admission. im wondering about people with Ph.D. who want to get hired by a university. would they have a better chance of getting a professorship if they have completed their degrees in the same field.</p>
<p>I don't know much about what an adcom would say, but I have a professor with quite a colorful CV.</p>
<p>She did her undergrad BA in Classics at Brandeis. MA in Art History at Rutgers. MA in Latin (required as a precursor to her PhD work), and PhD in Medieval Studies at Toronto. The thing with her though, is that all of those degrees complement the other almost perfectly; making her extremely marketable and also very knowledgeable in cognate fields, as Professor X mentioned.</p>
<p>I'm sure that it could be different outside of the humanities/social sciences, but I don't see how, if the fields are closely related, it would be somehow damaging to a future career as a professor - especially if one is so qualified and passionate about the field in question.</p>
<p>In fields like bioinformatics, computational bio/neuro, etc, there are hardly any undergrad programs in them anyway, and the overwhelming majority of practitioners come into the field from elsewhere. The professors I've met in such areas pretty much never had their BS in that area, and often didn't have their MS in that area.</p>
<p>to everyone who mentioned xyz profs who have degrees in different fields, i do also know many professors who have gone from one field to another (but somehow related etcetc). my favorite engineering professors and scientists are extremely diverse in their educations. HOWEVER, i heard that is because they are highly motivated, extremely driven, and all that good stuffs. here i am wondering about obtaining professorship at low-tier colleges as an okay phd holder. i know it sounds really dumb, but with my background, i must have a stable job (i’d be very content being a teaching prof at a small city college) even at the worst case. </p>
<p>all im saying is if i were to hire someone for cell biology, among TONS of cell bio phd holders, i would prefer someone who has gotten undergrad education in biology, if not cell biology.</p>
<p>is anyone getting my concern? am i just too paranoid. thank you !!</p>
<p>Look, noface, the only place information about your undergraduate degree appears is ONE LINE on your CV. It’s even possible to leave off information about your major, and just list the school.</p>
<p>I seriously doubt that any search committee will care in what field you received your undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>When job ads ask for undergraduate transcripts (and that is increasingly rare) it is just so the Human Resources/Personnel office can determine whether or not a candidate is lying about a degree. </p>
<p>Chill on this one. There are many more substantial reasons why one would be a less-than-desirable candidate for a job.</p>