On the Importance of PhD Institute in Establishing a Long-Term Research Career in Astronomy

Abstract

We have examined the success rates of 19 American, Canadian, Australian, and Dutch graduate programs in producing astronomers. A 20-year baseline was considered (1975-1994), incorporating 897 PhD recipients. The major conclusion from our study is that the fraction of PhD graduates still involved in astronomical research is surprisingly insensitive to the institutional source of one's PhD. With few exception, 55-75% of graduates, regardless of PhD source, remain active in the astronomical research community. While it remains true that graduates of so-called ``prestigious'' programs preferentially populate the same, it is also clear that an abundance of opportunities exist at smaller ``non-prestigious'' institutions, liberal arts colleges, government, and industry. The latter, of course, generally carry enhanced administrative and/or teaching duties, but, on the other hand, do not entirely preclude a role in the research community. A Kepler-Meier survival analysis of two disparate institutes demonstrates that ``success'' is a dynamical entity, and that blind consideration of a 20-year baseline sample can mask important recent trends. Within ten years of PhD receipt, an equilibrium is reached in which 45% of the graduates are in identifiably permanent positions, 20% remain in soft-money positions, and 35% have left research entirely. Graduates of American universities are 2-3 times more likely to find permanent employment in the USA than Canadian or Australian graduates are within their respective institute's country. While the number of American, Canadian, and Dutch PhDs have grown 20% during the past decade, the growth in Australia has been closer to 70%.