In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:
Asking as an upcoming applicant: What are mid-ranked programs and how should we compare them? My sense is the following:
1. The current top 9 (ending with USC) plus Stanford are the best.
2. Top 14-22 -- from CUNY to Cornell are second-tier.
3. Top 22-36 -- from UCSD, Chicago, to UPenn are third-tier.
4. The rest, starting with Georgetown, progressively gets worse.
So what are "mid-ranked" programs here? Is it 2 and 3, or just 3, or some of 2, 3, and some of 4? Where do UCSD and Chicago fall, for instance? In addition, do you have a sense as to which programs are on the rise and which ones are on the decline?
I'm genuinely asking this to figure out people's actual perceptions and predictions about prestige. I am aware that there are other factors important to consider; my question is just about prestige comparison. I'm not interested in a discussion of the absurdity of rankings or whatever. Clearly, everyone cares about these and takes them seriously to an extent whether they find it absurd or not.
Another reader submitted the following reply:
I know very few people who put a lot of stock in rankings (whether from US News, Leiter, or elsewhere). They are maybe useful in a general way, but not at the granular level. If you are trying to decide where to apply, I'd advise making a list of scholars whose research you find exciting and then apply to the programs where they work. Once you get your acceptances you can go from there. Don't discount quality of life considerations. At the end of the day there aren't that many jobs, so I advise prioritizing fulfillment over prestige. There's no sense in spending 5-10 years miserably when there's no guarantee you will get to do philosophy after you finish the PhD. Perceived prestige counts most on the job market, but I doubt the general prestige of say Cornell vs Chicago is going to make any difference in your employment prospects. However if one of those programs is really strong in your particular AOS, that can make a huge difference - even if it is technically "ranked" a couple slots lower. This is especially true if you work hard on networking and getting good letters of reference from important scholars in your area.
I think this reply makes some sense, but if I were applying to PhD programs, I think I'd probably focus the most on different programs' job-placement rates (see here and further ADPA data here). If you're going to spend 5-10 years in a PhD program, you should probably care a lot about how likely it is that you'll actually finish the program and obtain a job.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?
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