A philosopher trained outside the US and UK (who now teaches in the UK) writes:
I appreciate that you recently brought up the Oxford DPhil post. One comment mentioned something about the UK vs US PhD issue. I do not wish to be identified, but if you find the issue worth discussing, I would like to see someone comment on whether non US PhDs have a disadvantage worldwide or specifically on the US job market. My question comes from my past and current institutions. I did my PhD at [a top Australasian program]. I currently teach at [a strong UK program]. Both are decent institutions. However, I looked at the placement records, and neither seem to have a remotely decent history of placing people in US Universities.
Reason I’m asking is because my course work students at [my current UK program] seem to be relatively uninterested in applying for US PhDs, and I’m deeply concerned whether this would limit their options in the future.
A few observations of my own, but I am very interested to hear from readers with relevant experience. In philosophy, hiring is hugely affected by "familiarity," and that often counts against non-US PhDs, unless they come from one of the handful of overseas universities whose main faculty are well-known here in North America. One of my kids is pursuing a PhD in a core natural science discipline, and while some of the pattern from philosophy repeats there, it is also striking, to me, how often it does not. I assume this has something to do with non-subjective evaluations in the assessment of candidates (how often is your research being cited, for example). One's research can get a lot of citations, even if one's advisor was not friends with the right people.
The less certain question is how much longer US higher education will continue to be an attractive destination for academics outside the US. This is the "$64,000 question" as the saying goes. A number of state university systems are becoming hostile to academic freedom and free speech more generally (Florida most infamously, but Texas is close behind). Donald Trump, the Mafia Don of the Republican Party, may be re-elected in 2024. Under Trump, the federal government might strip federal aid to universities which did not do an adequate job of suppressing anti-Israel speech. Of course, the United States is huge, and the "federal" system gives states a fair degree of autonomy. But graduate applications to the US are declining, and that's not crazy. Several other non-totalitarian countries have serious university systems that are also accessible to English speakers: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Singapore, even Hong Kong (although Hong Kong is under serious threat).
So back to my correspondent's question: do non-US PhDs have a disadvantage worldwide and/or in the U.S. in particular?
