Obtaining employment in academia: The hiring process and characteristics of successful applicants.

Little is known about (a) the criteria used by doctoral degree-granting psychology programs in the selection of new faculty, (b) characteristics and qualifications of successful applicants, or (c) differences between clinical and experimental specialties on these variables. The present study addresses these issues by surveying department heads (or search committees) or doctoral degree-granting psychology programs and newly hired faculty members in clinical and experimental programs. Responses were related to the faculty search, the hiring process, the variables that influenced faculty search committees' decisions, and demographic information and qualifications of newly hired faculty. Results indicate some trends in academic psychology and also point out several discrepancies in previous research. Differences between the 2 specialties are also elucidated. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation and the Cultures of Professional Psychology Education Programs.

Evaluation is an important aspect of professional psychology education programs, particularly as the field moves increasingly toward competency-based models and concerns arise about the qualifications of students in some doctoral programs. Attitudes about evaluation are shaped by the cultures of professional training programs, which are illuminated by K. J. Gergen's (1991/2000) distinction among the romantic, modernist, and postmodernist views. Issues considered include the effects of competition, the implications of competency-based evaluation, evaluation-free environments versus evaluation-rich environments and safety, the wish for the "riskless risk," faculty roles, faculty modeling, evaluation of faculty by students, and the distinction between client and student roles. The cultures of evaluation and associated attitudes influence the nature of collegiality and how one responds to diverse theoretical positions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy integration in internships and counseling psychology doctoral programs.

Training directors from APA-accredited internships and counseling psychology doctoral programs reported on the status of doctoral training in psychotherapy integration. A mail survey was used to assess several areas related to psychotherapy integration, such as didactic and clinical training, faculty/staff theoretical orientation and hiring practices, student competency and evaluation, directors' beliefs about integrative/eclectic training, and internship admissions. Overall results show a positive attitude toward psychotherapy integration in predoctoral training and suggest that the foundations for further student development in psychotherapy integration exist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practices in the recruitment and hiring of faculty for psychology departments in Canadian universities.

Investigated faculty recruitment and hiring practices of psychology departments in Canadian universities, as well as the job search experiences of recently hired male and female faculty. Questionnaires were sent to 61 departments and 105 faculty, and data from 38 completed department questionnaires and 64 faculty questionnaires were analyzed. Results indicate that the majority of psychology departments lacked complete affirmative action policies, and many lacked other specific requirements for ensuring participation by women. In spite of some deterrents to full equality, including a salary differential favoring men, it appears that women are being hired in proportion to their representation in the psychology labor force. Differences in male and female applicants that may favor the hiring of male faculty were found to be few. (French abstract) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educational opportunities and challenges in poultry science: impact of resource allocation and industry needs

Because the number of Poultry Science departments in the U.S. has declined dramatically, and because scientist years and research funding for poultry, relative to other commodities, have also declined, a survey of poultry meat companies was conducted. Objectives of the survey were: to evaluate corporate concern over the status of Poultry Science departments, to categorize hiring patterns, to determine expectations for prerequisite skills of graduates, and to ascertain attitudes toward hiring of Associate-degreed students (A.S.). A two-page survey was distributed to corporate Vice Presidents or Directors of Human Resources of the 17 largest broiler and 10 largest turkey companies. When asked to gauge the difficulty they encountered in locating adequate numbers of Poultry Science graduates, 83% noted at least some difficulty. All respondents indicated concern over the loss of poultry programs in the U.S. and 44% noted "extreme" concern. There appears to be little resistance to hiring 2-yr A.S. degree graduates in Poultry Science. The relative scarcity of these programs is demonstrated by the fact that only one-third of the respondents had ever hired A.S. degree graduates. However, greater than 80% of the firms indicated they would hire these students. Finally, communication and business skills were more highly rated by human resources management than technical ability in Poultry Science. Given these results, academic programs must: develop curricula that reflect market-place expectations, enhance the efficiency of resource utilization, embrace new technologies that provide novel methods for information delivery, and reassess cooperative linkages among industrial and governmental organizations.     

National conference on levels and patterns of professional training in psychology: The major themes.

Describes the major topics of discussion and resolutins of the National Conference on Levels and Patterns of Professional Training in Psychology held in Vail, Colorado, in July 1973. An attempt was made to define a professional training model, and relevant issues discussed include the priority of multilevel training programs, desirable characteristics of professional training, consumer needs, admission strategies, content of programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, faculty qualifications, evaluation and accreditation procedures, continuing education programs, minority recruitment and training, and social delivery systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recruitment practices and job search for academic positions in psychology.

This paper describes the faculty hiring process, applicants' job search process, and unsuccessful applicants' current employment based on surveys of 31 hired faculty members, 13 successful applicants who had declined job offers, 55 unsuccessful applicants, and 17 Canadian psychology departments with respect to full-time junior faculty openings advertised in 1993–94. Applicants in the clinical/counselling area were most likely to be successful. Significant predictors of success were number of courses taught, having children, citizenship or permanent residency, internship completion, number of books and book chapters published, and number of research grants awarded. There was a perceptual gap between departments and applicants in the importance of several selection criteria. Applicants were most critical about departments' lack of communication with and consideration for applicants. Nevertheless, over 90% of unsuccessful applicants were currently fairly happily employed in their profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Survey on ethnic minority faculty recruitment and retention.

Summarizes responses from 209 graduate departments of psychology regarding hiring and retention of minority faculty and reasons why minority applicants may decline faculty positions. The results suggest that a more favorable atmosphere for employment of minority applicants is emerging; that a good record of research and teaching skills is a prerequisite for being hired; that for those hired, too much minority service and insufficient research activity are the most common perceived barriers to tenure; that the most common reasons given by minority applicants for rejecting an employment offer include higher salary, more preferred geographic location, and the presence of minority persons in the local community. Recommendations are provided for both minority applicants seeking faculty positions and for psychology departments wishing to attract minority applicants. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training opportunities in group treatment methods in APA-approved clinical psychology programs.

Questionnaires were mailed to the clinical training directors of 101 doctoral training programs in clinical psychology, and 70 were completed and returned. Results indicate that both program emphasis and student interest in training in group treatment methods have increased significantly over the past 5 yrs. However, the number of courses offered, staff involved in this area, and funds allocated for such training have not increased as dramatically. These trends are discussed in terms of the expanding need and interest in group treatment modalities. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in budgetary and personnel support levels of psychology departments, l970–1980.

A survey of US psychology departments that offer graduate programs was conducted during the 1969–1970 academic year and repeated in 1979–1980. Statistics on such topics as the number of undergraduate majors, graduate students, faculty, and secretaries revealed little change over the 10-yr period. However, the number of faculty classroom contact hours increased. While there were increases in many of the budgetary categories, such increases did not keep pace with inflation. Breakdowns of the data by region of the country, public vs private institution, size of university, and type of graduate program (master's degrees only or doctoral degrees) revealed several developments. The most notable include a greater decline in support levels in the western region of the country than in other regions, large gains in the number of graduate students in private institutions, a loss of undergraduates in private institutions, losses in number of faculty in institutions offering only the master's degree, and slight gains in number of faculty in institutions offering doctoral programs. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selecting a doctoral program in professional psychology: Some comparisons among PhD counseling, PhD clinical, and PsyD clinical psychology programs.

Directors of American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral programs in counseling psychology (95% response) and clinical psychology (99% response) provided data regarding number of applications, credentials of incoming students, rates of acceptance, and the theoretical orientations and research areas of the faculty. The acceptance rates of PhD clinical and PhD counseling psychology programs were comparable (6% vs. 8%), despite the higher number of applications (270 vs. 130) to clinical programs. Compared with clinical students, counseling students were more likely to represent ethnic minorities and have master's degrees, but were otherwise similar in academic credentials. Clinical faculty were more likely to be involved in research with pathological populations and associated with medical settings, whereas counseling faculty were more involved in research concerning career processes, human diversity, and professional issues. These results should alert applicants and their advisors to robust differences across these specializations and should enhance matching between programs and students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affirmative action policies are demeaning to women in academia.

Preferential hiring policies are often based on the erroneous assumption that if a designated group is not represented in an occupation or profession in the same proportion as it is represented in the population, then negative discrimination has taken place. In the school of discrimination-logic, no alternative explanations are considered. Not only is it asserted that the white male majority keeps women out by deliberate exclusion, but also by creating a climate in which women are uncomfortable. This explanation is emphasized particularly for the smaller numbers of women in science and engineering. Although there may have been a bias in favour of males in the past, a look at the evidence suggests that, currently, women in Canada are being hired in academic institutions at rates higher than would be expected from the number of qualified applicants. Moreover, their persisting low representation in some fields may be a matter largely of self-selection, reflecting different talents, values, and preferences. It is suggested that hiring women over better-qualified men will inevitably lead to the downgrading of women in academia, to a reduced respect for the professoriate, to poorer education for students, and to a deterioration of collegial relations between men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctoral students view their APA counseling psychology programs.

A survey studied counseling psychology programs and examined the characteristics of 1st- and 2nd-yr doctoral students. Results were based on questionnaires received from 203 students representing 20 programs. There were significant differences between several programs on the variables of sex, age, work experience, and academic level. Ss perceived their programs primarily as eclectic in theoretical and experiential orientation. There were differences between programs in the emphasis given research, practical applications, and personal growth. Ss expressed preferences for greater input in curricula, more contact with faculty, and more cooperation among their peers. They gave positive overall ratings for their doctoral programs. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance as a function of increased minority hiring.

Examined the impact of increasing the percentage of hires (above the T. A. Cleary [1968] fair-hiring level) from minority groups with demonstrated lower average job performance. Increased minority hiring resulted in only a small performance loss, even when minority hiring exceeded the minority applicant representation. However, when minorities were hired at a rate equal to or greater than their applicant representation, the expected performance loss among the hired minorities was much greater than performance loss across all hires. More important, the discrepancy in performance between majority and minority hires increased as minority hiring increased. With minority hiring above the level of minority applicant representation, this discrepancy exceeded the population difference in performance between the 2 groups. These findings suggest additional considerations when raising minority hiring above minority applicant representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Where have all the students gone? Positions of psychologists trained in clinical/services programs.

This article presents a variety of findings derived from two outcome studies of psychologists who received their doctorates from clinical/services training programs supported by the National Institute of Mental Health in the years 1968-1980. Comparative data are presented regarding the initial positions and geographical distribution of graduates during this period. Despite some erosion in the market for academic faculty positions, the results show a consistent and extraordinary degree of employment consonant with training and virtually no unemployment. Two thirds of the graduates have jobs in a range of organized settings for service, and over 22% of the remainder are in academic or research positions. The most recent study enables analyses of certain factors influencing the initial location of graduates. Particular attention is paid to three topics of national concern. Criteria are developed for designating rural/small town service providers, and evidence is presented showing that programmatic implementation of this priority in training yields results. The issue of clinical research is discussed; the scope of such research and the extent to which students may be engaged in it are examined. Data are provided on the recruitment of minority students, and factors affecting minority student retention and completion of training are discussed. Outcomes of master's-level training programs are presented separately, and characteristics of training at that level are contrasted with those in doctoral programs. In a concluding section, the findings are discussed in the context of changes in psychology graduate education during the past generation, some current value dilemmas that affect education are explored, and certain implications of the revised national policies for support of clinical training in mental health are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selected outcomes of accredited programs.

For a representative sample of 149 accredited doctoral programs, 3 types of outcomes are reported: activities of students, time to degree, and employment settings of graduates. Comparisons of activities on the basis of program specialty area yielded a difference only for the activity of providing professional services (with clinical?>?counseling?>?school). Comparisons on the basis of degree type (PhD, PsyD) yielded differences for all activities except providing professional services, with PhD students and faculty reporting higher median levels of involvement. Students in PhD programs require significantly longer (approximately 1.5 years) to complete their degrees than do PsyD program students. Graduates' employment settings tend to be consistent with the specialty area of their doctoral programs with interesting shifts from initial to subsequent employment. Recommendations are made for expanding outcome assessment of graduate education and training in professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting clinical expertise in academic faculty supervisors.

Surveyed 71 training clinic directors at American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited clinical psychology doctoral programs to determine the role of departmental policies in encouraging clinical faculty to maintain and develop their clinical skills. Ss estimated the amount of current clinical faculty involvement in direct service work, the relationship between such involvement and effectiveness at clinical supervision, and the weight given to supervisory skill in departmental promotion and tenure decisions. Supervisory skill was positively related to the supervisor's level of current clinical activity. However, Ss in many programs felt that the quality of supervision was being ignored in tenure and promotion determinations. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problematic issues for Blacks in doctoral psychology programs.

Presents various aspects of the involvement of Black students and faculty in doctoral programs in psychology. Recruitment procedures, admissions criteria, financial aid, Black faculty rank, and retention strategies are examined. A focal concern of the article is the "marginal" Black students, that is, those who are admitted under some affirmative action mandate but who do not meet the traditional admissions criteria. This problem involves issues such as how to retain these students until program completion without simultaneously lowering academic standards. Although Black faculty could probably contribute greatly to addressing these matters, they are sorely underrepresented in doctoral programs throughout the country. There is great institutional variability in terms of admission and retention policies. Recommendations are made for actions that institutions can take to increase the involvement of Blacks in their doctoral psychology programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)