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Importance of undergraduate institution prestige in physics faculty hiring networks

Daniel Z. Grunspan1,4,5,*, Regis Komperda2, Erika G. Offerdahl3, Anna E. Abraham4, Sara Etebari4, Samantha A. Maas4, Julie A. Roberts4, Suhail Ghafoor5, and Sara E. Brownell4

  • 1Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
  • 2Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
  • 3School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164, USA
  • 4Research for Inclusive STEM Education Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85281, USA
  • 5Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85281, USA

  • *Corresponding author: dgrunspan@uoguelph.ca
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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010144 – Published 20 May, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.20.010144

Abstract

Reforming the professionalization experiences of future faculty members, including their undergraduate experience, provides a possible means to create scalable change in higher education. However, this requires an understanding of where faculty undergraduate training occurs. We analyze data from 7748 tenure-line faculty members across 611 U.S. physics departments, including their undergraduate alma mater and their employer university. The resulting undergraduate professionalization network reveals a prestige hierarchy similar in strength to those previously found in hiring networks at the Ph.D. level, indicating that the road to faculty jobs begins during undergraduate admissions. Furthermore, 42% of physics faculty members earned their undergraduate degrees from institutions outside of the United States. These results reinforce the importance of institutional prestige in academia and offer a potential strategy for driving systemic change.

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010144– Published 20 May, 2024
  • Received 10 March 2024
  • Accepted 4 April 2024
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