Do you have to go to a prestigious university to later become a professor?

Question

I am starting college in the fall and desperatly want to become an english/creative writing professor. I will probably go to a small 4 year public university near me (because it is all i can afford) called the University of West Georgia. I was wondering if most professors that teach at 4 year schools have degrees at real prestigious schools like harvard, yale, berkeley, etc... (because that is the way it seems) or do plenty of them go to smaller, public schools
thanks

Answer 1

Your undergrad degree is not so important, but you'll have to get a PhD at a better school than the one you at which you want to teach. Get top grades and work towards a student teaching deal to help pay for a bettr University after you get your B.A.

The school doesn't have to be Ivy League, but it has to be recognized for excellence in the depratment you want to pursue.

Answer 2

Q1: There are few universities offering 'straight' astronomy courses - they tend to be wrapped up as an option with Physics courses. And that's not such a bad thing, see, astronomy is based on understanding what observations mean, and necessarily that means knowing how light interacts with matter, how gravity works, how instruments work and so on. (disclaimer: I'm a physicist and have taken astronomy courses, stellar physics, galactic dynamics, and general relativity, at different universities, for different degrees) You may want to look at combined phys+astro degrees. They'll give you the broader picture of how stuff works. However, if you never want to learn differential calculus, or if the idea of measuring the half-life of muons turns you off, some uni's do indeed offer majors in astronomy. (UBC for one - ha - I see that calculus in yr 1 is built in, don't fight it, it's d*mned useful) Q2: Phew. I'm not from Canada (but live here), so I can only say, good grades in maths, physics, chemistry, would do very nicely. Even biology - astrobiology is a new and growing field (heck, I spent 3 years in Holland as a post-doc working out how fast organic molecules fall apart on the surface of Mars) Any science would do - but math/chem/phys would have to be at the core. Q3: The undergrad program? 4 years seems to be standard. I'm from England, and when I were a lad, a BSc took 3 years. Q4: Pass. You may want to contemplate your final career more carefully. Just because you've a degree in Phys/Astro, doesn't make you an astronomer. Most astronomers I know have PhDs, and will work on a number of post-doctoral contracts within institutes or universities. They travel, they don't stay put. Okay, one of my friends did stay put (but Jon's like that) - but most will scamper around the globe chasing contracts, even Jon sometimes had to go to La Palma to fix the computers. One lass I knew came from Kenya, studied in England, went to Denmark, and back to England, all while studying helioseismology in other stars. Keep your passport handy and don't get too fixed on where you do your work.

Answer 3

No one looks at where you went as an undergraduate when you get a job as a professor -- they look at where you get your PhD. It is easier to get a good faculty position if you have a PhD from a high quality university.

It is true that it is easier to get into a high quality graduate program if you go to a prestigious university -- but it is not impossible coming from a school like yours. Your chances would improve slightly if you could transfer to U of GA in your junior year. But if you do really well at UWG, you sould be able to get into some decent graduate program. You would probably have an easier time getting into a large public university that is ranked (e.g., Minnesota, Wisconsin) than a smaller program at a private school (Stanford, Duke, Yale).

Answer 4

No, no people go on to be professors with a first degree from many, many universities, most of them not ivy league. The most that can be said is if your terminal degree (Ph.D. usually) is from a prestigious institution this is a point in your favor when you are being considered for a job. I have been on many, many hiring committees and can think of no instance where it has been a determining factor.

You get a good degree, i.e. a well-thought out program of study and do well in it, and go on from there. The fact that your degree says UWG will not be a limiting factor in your life.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Depends. I know a woman who went to a small, liberal arts college, but she'll probably have a good chance of getting a job at either her university or that other college, because of the connections she made, her work ethic, and leadership abilities.

Answer 6

To a SMALL degree it matters. (i.e. if you end up getting your PhD from some "hybrid" school (University of Phoenix, Capella, it probably won't get you very far).

But other than that - it's not so much WHERE you went to school, but rather the quality, and amount of your published works.

Answer 7

No you don't. Most of my professors and all of the doctors I've had in college did not go to an ivy league school.

Answer 8

Becoming a professor doesn't depend so much on where you do your undergraduate work.
More will depend on where you go to grad school, and your thesis. It will also help to publish papers.

Answer 9

My dad went to Harvard but No, you dont but you might get a better job

Answer 10

no, that doesn't even make sense. every single professor having to go to a prestigous college? doubt it!