Exploring the Demand for PhDs in Public Affairs and Administration

Abstract

This study provides a preliminary analysis of the market for PhDs in public affairs and administration projected over the next several years. Drawing on data gathered from three surveys, we explore the demand for academic PhDs (survey 1) and the supply of PhDs (surveys 2 and 3). The analysis of demand is further refined to estimate nonacademic employment (surveys 2 and 3 and examination of job postings). We also explore the diversity of PhD graduates. This kind of analysis is largely missing from the literature and is therefore an important, albeit initial contribution. We found that a gap exists between production of PhDs and the demand for them by universities, and that demand exceeds production. The gap is made much larger, though, because almost half of the PhDs graduating with degrees in public affairs and administration do not take positions in U. S. academia but rather assume positions in federal state and local governments, in the nonprofit sector, in think tanks, and in foreign universities and governments.

Keywords:

• PhD job market
• PhD job placement
• PhDs in public affairs and administration

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dianne Rahm

Dianne Rahm, PhD, is a professor of Political Science and Honorary Professor of International Studies at Texas State University. Her research interests include environmental policy and energy policy as well as science and technology policy. She has published over forty articles and book chapters and seven books.

Vicki Brittain

Vicki Brittain, JD, is a professor of Political Science at Texas State University and former department chair. She teaches primarily in the M.A. in Legal Studies graduate program and also teaches various undergraduate law-related courses in the department. Her primary research and teaching interests are in the areas of civil litigation, employment law, and the use of paralegals in the legal service delivery system.

Christopher Brown

Christopher Brown, JD, is an associate professor at Texas State who is also a licensed attorney and has worked both in the litigation and academic contexts, on the environment and environmental policy. One phase of his career involved teaching environmental litigation at Tulane Law School.

Charles Garofalo

Charles Garofalo, PhD, is a professor of Political Science at Texas State University. He has co-authored Ethics in the Public Service: The Moral Mind at Work; Common Ground, Common Future: Moral Agency in Public Administration, Professions, and Citizenship; and Practical Ethics in Public Administration. His work has also appeared in the American Review of Public Administration, Administrative Theory & Praxis, and the Journal of Management History.

Nandhini Rangarajan

Nandhini Rangarajan, PhD, is an associate professor of Political Science at Texas State University. Her research interests are in creativity and innovation, public management, human resources, and organizational behavior. Her articles have appeared in journals such as the Review of Public Personnel Administration and Public Productivity and Management Review. She recently published a book (coauthored with Dr. Patricia Shields) on research methods.

Patricia Shields

Patricia M. Shields, PhD, is a professor at Texas State University. Her research interests include civil-military relations, peacekeeping, pragmatism, and research methods. She is the editor in chief of the journal Armed Forces & Society. She has published two books on research methods and publishes in journals such as Administration & Society, Public Administration Review, American Review of Public Administration, and Armed Forces & Society.

Hyun Jung Yun

Hyun Jung Yun, PhD, is an associate professor of Political Science at Texas State University. She earned two doctoral degrees in two different disciplines, one in Political Science and the other in Journalism and Communication from the University of Florida. Her research is dedicated to interdisciplinary approaches across political communication, public opinion, geopolitics, and applied methodology, focusing on e-government, ethno-politics, social capital, and policy attitudes.