When I was a graduate student, on three different opportunities, I attended meetings with individuals applying for teaching positions within my department. When a department within a college hires a new professor, it is important to see how potential hires will interact and contribute to the different groups that exist. Department heads, professors, and graduate students all interact heavily in day to day college life. For graduate students to have their opinions about potential professors who will teach them heard is an awesome thing for departments to do.

My college campus in the fall

Most graduate students love school. If they are like me they love being on campus and want their education to be rewarding and happy.

Why Graduate Students Should Interview Potential New Professors

Graduate students are older individuals who are seeking to be professionals in their field. Graduate students have a lot invested in having good professors to act as mentors to prepare them for having a job using the education they've learned. Graduate students work as teaching assistants, research assistants, participate in scholarly discussions, write thesis/dissertations, and more activities along side their professors. It is important for colleges to hire new teachers who will fit the needs of their students and contribute positively to the environment of a department.

Some Graduate Students Have Been Around A While

I got my masters degree at the same school I got my bachelors degrees. I practically lived in the Sociology building for 6 years of my life. As a graduate student I knew exactly what the department was strong in and what areas a new professor was needed for. I remember getting to do group interviews with my fellow graduate students with three individuals who were seeking an open position after a professor retired.

During the meetings the interviewees told us graduate students all about themselves, their work, research interests, and what education/resources they could provide students. The interviewee in turn got to hear from us students and we could tell them what we thought about the department and how their skills could make the place better.

It was a relaxed meeting and I think for the interviewees to talk with actual students was one of the easier parts of the interview process. By the time we met the interviewees, the upper level professors had weeded out all other candidates and would use our feedback in helping them pick one from a final group of three.

After the meeting was over we wrote our thoughts down on cards. No identifying information was on the cards to keep our views and opinions anonymous. Overall, it was an interesting process and I appreciated my views being valued when hiring a new professor.

The Sociology department building where I spent 90% of my time during grad school

I had an office in the middle of all the professors offices. They'd drop by and say hi and chat with me and my fellow office mates.

Graduate Students Have A Lot Riding On Their Professors

A graduate education is expensive. To go all the way to doctoral level school costs a lot of money. As a graduate student, you don't want your money and time wasted by professors who don't do a good job. I remember feeling that way when working on my doctorate. The head of our department retired and was temporarily replaced by a professor who was lazy!

The first year of school, he basically let the department fall apart. We graduate students had no mentoring, no departmental unity, and struggled to enjoy our experiences. Thankfully, when interviewing new department heads, the graduate students were allowed to interview the candidates for the job.

Our acting head interviewed horribly! He basically said he'd continue to take a "laissez-faire" approach to being department head. This meant he would be lazy and let the department run itself which is a horrible plan. He wouldn't enforce new structures or programs. Under him the department would fail at it's goals and wouldn't grow or be worth graduate students time or money.

Unanimously, we graduate students supported his competition who in one year ended up growing the program and making it a great place to be a student. She helped set up mentoring between faculty and students, started weekly graduate student meetings, and over a 4 year period brought the department up in rank so that it is seen as a more prestigious program to be accepted into.

The classroom where I taught my own classes as a graduate instructor

Mentoring is the best teaching tool for someone training to be a teacher.

Conclusion

Being a graduate student means investing a majority of your time and money into an education. By including graduate students in interview processes for new professors being hired, departments are helping themselves to succeed by talking to those who are serious about learning. Graduate students have useful opinions and because they are mentored by professors, it can help to see how new hires will contribute to student needs and wants.

photo credit: all photos are my own.