Addressing the Faculty Shortage in Computing: Examining Interest in the Computing Professoriate

• In Event: Doctoral Student Persistence and Academic Employment

Abstract

Prompted by a critical faculty shortage in computing disciplines, along with the need to diversify the professoriate in computing, this study applies social cognitive career theory to examine what predicts doctoral students’ interest in faculty careers. Using a recent national sample of computing doctoral students, findings reveal that an overwhelming majority of students are interested in a faculty role, with stronger preferences for research faculty roles compared to teaching faculty roles. Inferential analyses indicate that learning experiences, such as serving as a teaching assistant, and proximal contextual affordances including department support and career guidance from advisors were the strongest predictors of interest in a faculty role. Findings inform individual and structural support for cultivating interest in faculty careers.

Authors

• Kari L. George, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Christopher Perdriau, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Mariam Camille Saffar Perez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author