I’ve been interviewing and feel I have done well but always up for more advice from folks in academia. If you’re on a search committee, what do you need to hear for the following questions? I’m trying to make sure I’m hitting main points without going on tangents. I’m interviewing at R1s and R2s this month. Thank you!

1. what is your 3-5 year plan (I’ve had in general and in terms of research)

2. explain your research agenda and plans for funding (mostly with now and the unknowns of federal grants. I have smaller grants under my belt so far). I realize this might be uncertain

3. I feel my research talk could be cut down a bit for time after some practice and interviews. What do you care most about here being emphasized if talking about a dissertation study (methodology and results for example?)?

Hey there. I am a final year linguistics BA student from Istanbul, Turkey. I have applied for a MA program at UAntwerp, called "Master of Linguistics and Literature: English". I have received a "positive recommendation" from them, meaning that I only need to do authenticity verification for my submitted documents. However, they told me that this positive recommendation comes with a binding condition:

"You are obliged to first follow a preparatory programme of 21 credits during the academic year 2025-2026. You are allowed to combine this preparatory programme with up to 39 credits from your Master's programme. The remaining credits from your Master's programme must be taken up through re-enrolment in the Master's programme in the academic year 2026-2027."

The "preparatory programme" they've proposed me is 6 BA-level literature courses. So basically they tell me that I have to take these 6 BA literature courses if I want to do a linguistics master's. I am aware that the title of the program says "Linguistics and Literature", but according to their website, I am able to choose only one literature course and fill the rest of my MA program with linguistics courses of my desire. Yet now I am obliged to a literature preparatory program.

A bit personal background: Turkey is becoming less and less livable in every single aspect of life, and I want to establish a life in Europe through higher education. This MA program is the one that attracts me the most because of its sociolinguistic focus, which is hard to find anywhere else. I also have financial restrictions and I will have to choose whichever institution that gives me a scholarship. With my strong application, I believe there's a possibility that I can get a full tuition waiver and a 10k scholarship from UAntwerp. Therefore, so far, this seems my only option because I don't have any other applications and my possible-future-applications in Germany will need a blocked bank account with 10k Euros in it, which I can't afford.

So, what do you think? Should I go for this? What are the risks? It seems that I'll have to work harder for this MA, and I'll have to take 6 literature courses that I really don't want to take. But if I have to, what's the matter, I can take and pass them, I know. Also, as I won't be able to finish it in 1 year, I'll need to take the remaining credits from the MA program through re-enrolment, in the academic year 2026-27. Will I have to pay tuition? Will I be able to stay there? For the first academic year (2025-26), will I be able to take all those courses they force me to take? Will they be available? Won't there be conflicts on my weekly schedule? I don't know. I have sent them an email 2 weeks ago, asking all these questions, but I have not received an answer yet.

I need your opinions. Thank you.

I am asking this question both to post doctorates and assistant professors. With the current situation here, does it make sense to try to find a safer haven somewhere else?

I'm from Switzerland, and a friend of mine at ETH Zurich (our top technical university, often compared to MIT) told me that the Trump administration has been sending them bizarre and politically charged questionnaires. They're being asked to denounce research projects that don't align with the administration’s ideology. I could hardly believe the way some of the questions were phrased—it honestly sounds like Trump wrote them himself.

Like: “Does this project take appropriate measures to protect women and to defend against gender ideology as defined in the bellow Executive Order?

Executive Order: DEFENDING WOMEN FROM GENDER IDEOLOGY EXTREMISM AND RESTORING BIOLOGICAL TRUTH..........”

I know there’s significant funding flowing both ways between Switzerland and the U.S., so I’m wondering—can anyone here shed some light on what the administration is trying to achieve with this?

ETH has apparently decided to ignore the inquiry, but does that put international research collaboration at risk?

What would you do if you were them?

As a side note: I’ve also heard that Swiss universities are seeing record numbers of applications from U.S.-based researchers who are now looking to move here...

Hi all, I teach a class at a medium-sized university with (majority) undergrad and grad students. Fwiw, I'm a young adjunct and this is my side job as I work full-time.

I'm having a guest speaker I met through a professional org come in because I thought it'd be a good learning experience. This is actually someone I've barely met in person once so far (though I plan to be more involved with the org).

I want to show my appreciation for their time and effort with a modest gift. I'm not sure if my department has funds for this kind of thing, but I'd rather not go through that process even if so (and I'm not sure if I have that privilege as an adjunct). I'm okay with paying out-of-pocket.

Would giving a $50-75 gift card (maybe a Visa gift card or similar that I give after the talk?) be a decent amount for a ~1 hour talk? The speaker is in their 30s, non-PhD, working in the industry. They won't be traveling far to get to campus. In my email making this ask, I'd said I'm willing to treat them to a meal or pay a modest fee, etc. so I don't think they're necessarily expecting much anyway. I just want to provide a little something in return even if it's relatively small!

Hello everyone,
I’m in the final year of my PhD in economics, and I’m also a freelance web designer in my free time.

I’ve been considering creating a personal academic website, but I’ve been disappointed by existing solutions:

• WordPress is unnecessarily complex, and most templates have poor design.
• Tools like Gatsby or other static site generators are great only for people who already know how to code.
• I would like to have a solution like Bento.me but tailored for academics.

As a designer/developer, I have access to many beautiful and tailored tools for design, but as a researcher, it seems that almost all the tools we use are outdated and/or poorly designed. It feels a bit frustrating.

So, I’m considering building my own solution—a tool to help academics easily build a beautiful academic website. As both a researcher and a designer/developer, I think I may be one of the few people able to do it right.

I’d love to have your genuine feedback on this idea and on the screens I’ve already designed:

• Home page: https://share.cleanshot.com/KPr2jzbD
• About page: https://share.cleanshot.com/6LYqf4CR
• Research page: https://share.cleanshot.com/1pGd6w7D
• Editor view: https://share.cleanshot.com/BD2qQmXw (Please consider the content only as placeholder.)

So far, I’ve designed the entire tool (from both the visitor’s and editor’s perspectives), and I’m almost ready to start building it. But before going further, I want to make sure this is something the academic community truly needs.

What if I’m the only one who wants a modern design for their website? What if I forget important features that other researchers may need?

So I’d really appreciate any feedback you can give me!

• Do you think having a modern website builder for academics is a useful idea?
• Do you like the design and feel of the homepage, or would you prefer something different?
• Would it be a problem if, at first, the tool lacks aesthetic customization (i.e., all sites look visually similar)? I could introduce templates later, but it would take more work for a side project.
• Is there any feature you’d need in order to consider building your personal academic website with this tool?

Overall, I have lots of ideas to build modern, well-designed tools for academics, and this is just a first step—so I’m excited to hear your thoughts!

Dear all,

I am a master's graduate in Biotechnology, gonna do my PhD in Brain organoids and neural tissue engineering. I'm happy that im selected for the Brain Organoids Summer School 2025 conducted from July 11-13 2025 held in Leioa (Bilbao, Spain).

I'm so excited because this will be my first conference where I'll be presenting my ideas and also learn to create Brain Organoids/Assembloids under expert guidance. The registration fees (with accommodation) is 400 euros and I won't be able to bear it. I also need financial assistance for the travel.

[The conference does not provide any financial assistance]

● Can any of you tell me any funding or financial aid options? 

Hello everyone,

I’m currently exploring a research question related to microfinance institutions (MFIs) for my master’s graduation thesis (due in 2026). The most comprehensive and accessible dataset I’ve found so far is from the World Bank (MIXMarket), but it only covers data up to 2019. Given the complexity of the information—such as financial and outreach performance—it would be quite difficult for me to obtain comparable, updated data independently.

Would it be acceptable to use pre-2020 data for this kind of research? I’d also really appreciate any suggestions if you happen to know of other databases with more recent or relevant data on MFIs.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Best regards,
Thanh

Hi everyone,
I wanted to share a bit about my journey after finishing a PhD in urban planning (with a strong passion for data) — and hopefully hear from others who’ve taken a similar path.

After completing my PhD, I moved to Germany after getting married but couldn’t find a job in academia or industry in my city. I didn’t want to move away from my family, so I stayed. Over time, life settled here.

Together with my life partner, we started a small landscape and urban design studio. Most of our projects focus on landscape design, but we always try to bring in data-related work — things like GIS, remote sensing, and spatial analysis, which I truly enjoy. I’ve learned a lot through this journey, probably even more than during my PhD, especially in terms of applied skills and self-discipline (thanks, PhD life!).

Our work isn’t “hardcore data science” — not big data or AI — but rather using data in practical ways to solve real-world problems. I’ve built models for location optimization, tree shade and climate analysis, and more. It’s fulfilling to see the impact of our work.

That said, I still want to contribute to academia, just not in a traditional full-time role. I usually publish one paper a year, either solo or with collaborators. I still have a research associate affiliation with a university in Europe (where I did my postdoc), but I’m not very active now, and the affiliation will end next year. There’s no drama — we have a good relationship — but it’s winding down.

I’m curious: are there others in a similar situation? People who work in practice but still maintain a research presence? Or who have returned to academia later — as guest lecturers, research fellows, or similar roles?

I’d love advice on how to keep doors open in both worlds — activities that help, networking strategies, or grant opportunities that bridge practice and research.

Thanks for reading! I’m not unhappy at all — just trying to manage my direction and make the most of both sides.

Sometimes I wonder what it really means to be an academician. Im a freach Phd gradut in political theory, I study systems, values, justice, and power — yet I often feel utterly alienated from the world I study. I write, I teach, I think… but I don’t know if I do anything that truly changes the lives of those beyond the classroom or the page.

The world moves on with its conflicts, revolutions, and quiet sufferings — and I remain here, reflecting, analyzing, publishing (maybe)… but powerless. It feels like I speak, yet no one hears. Like I exist in a space adjacent to reality, not inside it.

Perhaps others feel the same. Or perhaps I’ve lost sight of what impact even small ideas can have.

This may be long and incoherent, sorry in advance.

Before I did my PhD in that lab, I was warned by a PhD student who was finishing that it was a bad idea. She was annoyed for a number of reasons but mainly because she had no publications. I remember thinking that would not be me. My supervisor didn’t have much output but I trusted him and was excited about the project.

Every time I would want to try and publish something, he would send me away to write a full draft alone and then say it wasn’t good, but wouldn’t give any feedback why. He would also constantly change the plan, or want to change the story of a paper multiple times and it would be the same process of him leaving me to come up with a full draft, saying it wasn’t good enough and wanting a different “story”. I also did extra work for many other projects under the guise of I would be put as an author on these projects too but they never went anywhere (e.g. postdoc quit the lab). We finally submitted something at the very end of my PhD and it got rejected.

He never read my PhD thesis but I passed and examiners commented on how well it was written. I got a great postdoc and my current supervisor is constantly telling me how much of a good job I’m doing and that I write well. He also says part of the reason he hired me was because of my writing in my thesis. I know papers are different but I have always gotten positive comments on my writing, with the exception of my PhD supervisor- but again, he doesn’t tell me why.

My new lab is amazing, my new boss is very successful and I meet other researchers all the time, something that never happened in my old lab. I convinced my PhD supervisor to let me write a version of a paper with what I wanted to include (a “small” publication just so I had something from my PhD). I worked hard on it, wrote a full draft alone and again, not good enough but doesn’t tell me why. he now again wants to tell a different story.

Long story short, I’ve started my postdoc, my PhD supervisor has been moving the goal posts throughout my whole PhD and wants me to almost restart entire projects and rewrite papers with different “stories” (different background different interpretations of results etc.). On one hand, I want to publish something from my PhD but it seems impossible with him and like I’d be working on it forever (he had 4 years to help me publish and now is wanting me to still work on this during my postdoc - a year in). On the other hand, I’m thinking of just cutting ties, giving up on it and focusing on my postdoc - what would you do?

Thanks

Hi, part-time fellow grad student here. I’m also a full-time FOIA Analyst for the feds. While your results may vary, I can’t emphasize this enough: if you’re submitting FOIA requests right now for a paper due this semester, please think again. Staff have been hollowed out and most agencies have substantial backlogs. An impending school deadline is not justification for expediting your request. Above all, check the agency’s website to see what data they have already published online, and use that as much as possible. If your Analyst asks you for clarification or to demonstrate your educational status with documentation, that is sometimes code for “you don’t realize how big your ask is.” Work with your Analyst- we’re here to help, and feel pretty bad about the current situation.

I’m currently a postdoc and recently received a $3,000 research grant intended for research-related expenses. I’m planning to use these funds to purchase a desktop or laptop. I’ve been informed that any equipment bought with these funds must be returned when leaving the university. I’m aware of this rule but unsure if there are any specific penalties or consequences if the device isn’t returned. Does anyone have experience or knowledge about how strictly this policy is enforced and what happens if the equipment isn’t returned? Thanks in advance for your insights!

Hi all, I had an on campus interview for a visiting position a couple of weeks ago. I emailed everyone a thank you email. I haven’t heard back about the job yet. I personally was thinking that there was nothing to worry about. It’s only been a couple of weeks. But a lot of people (my lab and a couple of others) seem surprised I haven’t heard back yet. What do y’all think? If I haven’t heard back then I haven’t heard back yet-I can’t change it so just be honest🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

Hi there,

Currently writing my dissertation. I have a study skills tutor as I have ADHD . She said I could use ChatGbt to point out repetition in my writing and areas that need to be edited without removing the repetition or doing any editing itself. She said as long as I copy and paste the work into it saying 'do not edit or alter any of my work and do not generate any of your own content, please just point out the repetition and suggested areas to cut down words' that this would not be plaigirism. However I am terrified to do it as it still involves copy and pasting my work and putting it into Chatgbt and feel like this could then be flagged as plaigirism? Has anyone experience doing this and is it plaigirism?

For STEM TT job apps (leaning more towards the S), is the number of pubs more important than the quality of the work/how useful the community finds the work (necessarily assessed by citations and h index)? Or is having more pubs always better? Or is it better to have a balance--some highly cited papers, some paper that only get low single digit citations, and some in the middle?

I've looked at the small-ish sample size of the people I know: there are people who had 30+ pubs at the time of getting their job offers but relatively low citation counts and h index, and there are people who had 2-4 pubs (not all first author) but very high citation counts. All folks I mention got jobs at R1s

I'm sure that there are field-dependent differences (for eg. a lot of CS absolutely expects 1000+ citation counts while expectations in Cognitive Science can be as low as less than 100). But I'd love to hear more about this from folks here with field-specific expectations if possible.

Thanks in advance!

Warning this is a longish post and my question is kinda broad (read definitely very broad) and so if you only answer one part question(s) that is totally fine.

I am about to start grad school, my master’s, and so am getting to the point where I am going to start writing my own stuff. And while this idea likely won’t work for a thesis for what I am studying, it is something I really want to write, and I plan to slowly work on it throughout my academic career and almost certainly well into my career. But the people who I have mentioned my idea to have stated that it is definitely something they’d like to read even those who are not studying classics and only have a passing interest.

It’s essentially a series of connected papers, which if I publish as papers will be more standalone. However I can see it winding up collectively being long enough to be a book and know how I could format it slightly differently for this setting. However, it is likely going to be the first thing I publish that isn’t for a grade or degree that I publish, and so I’m not sure how well it would get out as a book. The exact lens in which I am examining the topic (which is a relatively popular topic even to individuals outside of academia or specifically studying classics/humanities) is something I have not seen anywhere and so I would probably be the first to put something like this out there. I’m not sure if that part makes much of a difference. To get back to my question, if I were to publish this, would I be able to publish at least a few parts as individual papers in journals and then reuse them to publish all of these papers as a book (obviously with some reformatting and editing as I will be able to refer back to previous chapters and sections)? Or do journals then own the copyright and so reusing them even with reformatting and edits would get me in trouble? Would I have to decide early on whether I want to write it as a book or a series of papers? If they own the copyright could I get away with writing a less detailed and thus shorter version of the book to submit as a paper in a journal and then publish the in depth version as a book? Either way I would want to get it peer reviewed and all that stuff.

If I have to choose I will likely opt to do the book, but if I can get some of this out as papers in order to establish myself in the scene and help with my credibility that would be helpful I think. But if I can only do the book version are there any tips on things that are good to have in academic literature that aren’t always obvious? It’s an idea I have been toying around with and even touched on slightly in some assignments for school, though given time limits it’s extremely basic and only from one specific type of source whereas the full things will examine multiple types of sources and even just a higher number of sources. I already have a planning document outlining the questions I already have, a very vague outline of what it might look like (though I imagine this outline will almost certainly change as I research) and extensive lists of sources to look at. I also already have a tiny bit of the research done, although despite already having like 10 pages of annotated bibliography (quotes, full citations and links to online papers and my notes regarding quotes) I am at best only 2% done at the absolute most, and more likely the actual number is <1%, and I will likely not start actually writing for a long time especially since I am also actively in school, and so wouldn’t be able to realistically think about publishing without a phd or career experience and be taken seriously the same way other phds are with this stuff.

Also if you read this and realize I have either no idea or only a vague idea of how publishing in academia works you are 100% correct and you are welcome to educate me on how it actually works, I will have to learn sooner rather than later.

Hi, I have been offered a TT Assistant Prof job at an ivy with starting salary of $108,000. Uni is in a high cost of living area. I already have a TT job-and am 6years post-PhD. I am in the humanities and not familiar with the US system. The offer includes start up research funds, moving costs, summer salary. The salary is similar to my current role, but I don't live in a high COL city.

I understand we should critically think about what we learn and how our society is, and maybe I'm overthinking stuff... But I've been fed up about how much negativity is in Postmodernism and some Academic's professional conduct. I don't know, does anyone else relate to what I am saying or am I too biased and settled in to defying Critical Theory?

The very first thing we did in my english courses was to proofread Karl Marx... of all people.... I'm in Canada, why aren't we reading notable Canadian authors like Margaret Atwood? Someone who will make one think out of the box, be fairly critical of society but not be as controversial and provoking as Marx? Some Critical Theories that I used to disagree with have made me change my beliefs, such as Intergeneration Trauma. So idk if I'd say I'm simply ignorant to dissent.

On the flip side, why haven't these courses presented a more conservative / traditional point of view to critique, like Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments"? And is it truly a critiquing assignment if we're asked questions about Postmodern texts such as "What does this Postmodernist text teach us"? ... I'm sorry, am I to critically think for myself in regards to what I read, or am I to explain what I'm being taught like I fully agree with it?

We also read "Theme For English B" By Langston Hughes. It's a notable poem that compares and contrasts blacks and whites in 1920's Harlem... Basically Hughes wrote what it meant to be free while he was discriminated against going to Colombia University, he had to go to his local YMCA to attend classes because blacks were banned from attending Colombia.... It was a good read, nice flow to the poem. But how is this critical to think about how his issue with academic discrimination is wrong in today's day? Who in 2025 would disagree with the statement that Hughes shouldn't have be discriminated against???? It's fair to say that we were to write about the themes and settings in the text, more than what the author is writing about in general, but IMO that's not critical reading if we can't critique what we are reading and essentially reading a point of view that well over 90% of students agree with. Change the courses name if we're simply interpreting what we read.

Also I just find that some (not all) academics that focus on Postmodernism and Critical Theory, are just sooooo negative and rude with their conduct. My first English teacher would go on angry rants about feminist issues in class while it has nothing to do with the assignment. She would expect the utmost respect when being talked to, while half the time she'd interrupt students and raise her voice at them with an accusatory tone like they're wasting her time. I understand there are legitimate feminist issues that need to be addressed and are politically important, and if one has personally suffered as a female they have more passion to do what is right... But there's a sense of venom and vindictiveness in some critical theorist's speeches. I feel like some people dive into these theories so deep that they end up hating everything in their lives, and it's sad to see because we have to be stronger as a society and find middle ground and solutions in order to improve and find more peace.

I don't know, this has been bugging me for months. And maybe I'm ignorant to something I'm not seeing in the bigger picture. Maybe my centrist-Libertarian points of views make me more biased against modern post-secondary education. I just wish we could at least see other critical perspectives, and be able to critique the critiquer. To be able to write why we disagree with Marxism and Postmodernism respectfully would make it more comfortable to express ideas and come to middle ground and solutions. Instead of feeling like an indoctrinated puppet in a puppet show and being told what to think.

What do you think? Thanks for reading this. I'd love to see what you think and maybe I can see a different point of view.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/revolutionary-app-rich-prevents-research-misconduct-and-its-costly-consequences-1034381864

The article states that through blockchain technology, they are able to solve the "perimeter problem" - the difficulty of safeguarding research at the pre-publication stage when information must be distributed but its usage cannot be regulated. I'm a bit skeptical about blockchain. Please clarify if anyone understands how this could work and in general, what are your thoughts?

Hi all,

I'm involved in clinical studies where patients are recruited based on specific inclusion criteria. These criteria are usually assessed through standard medical procedures (e.g like hearing tests or other routine evaluations) carried out by whoever is on clinical duty at the time (physicians, audiologists, tech staff, etc.).

These evaluations are part of their normal clinical responsibilities, and none of these individuals are otherwise involved in the design, analysis, interpretation, or writing related to the study.

Lately, some of the physicians have demanded to be included as co-authors on the resulting publications.

To me, just doing your regular clinical duties without contributing intellectually to the study doesn't qualify as authorship. Otherwise, where do you draw the line? Do I have to include everyone involved in the authors list? That's ridiculous imo.

I'm curious how others handle such issues?

I've been searching everywhere but haven't found much insight into the academic side of media professions. Most media-related academic articles seem to fall under psychology—so if I want to pursue media research, would a PhD in Media or Psychology be the better path?

Can anyone in media academia share their experience? What is it like pursuing a PhD in communications, journalism, or public relations? What does the research side involve, and how does it translate into teaching or lecturing?

Sorry for the questions vomit, I just haven't interacted with anyone coming from this experience. Most people utilise their media degrees to go into the corporate arena.

I find it emotionally difficult to work with her. She seems to like me and has high expectations, but I often feel suffocated by how controlling she can be.

For example: • She gets upset or makes passive-aggressive comments when I get along with other professors • She doesn’t let me audit classes outside of her own • I feel like she wants to keep me under her influence and discourages me from exploring beyond that

It’s been seriously affecting my mental health.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of overly controlling advisor? I’d really appreciate your thoughts or advice. Thanks.

So my PI asked me if I would like to present a poster presentation at a conference but it's my first time so some guidance would be much appreciated. I understand the conference is multiple days but the slot for my poster is only on 1 of the days, does that mean I still attend other days, also what do I do lol? Also, how do these presentations work, is like people walk around and you present or people come by or what? Also, do you get asked multiple questions and what are the questions lied. Also what do you do when you go to these conference exactly

Edit: Also is there a fee to attend if I'm presenting or how does that work?

TIA!!

My university has been slashing the budget and got it down to more than an 15 million dollar deficit. We are already in crisis from the enrollment cliff. Are we at risk of closing? People who have had universities close, what warning signs did you see?