The 2016-2017 APSA Departmental Survey: Faculty Composition Report analyzes the size and rank of faculty, including the number of new hires, at political science departments in the United States.
Average faculty size and the proportions of faculty of different ranks varied by the highest degree offered by the department, as well as by the type of institution in which the department is located. The average faculty size of PhD-granting departments was larger than at MA-granting departments, which in turn were larger than the average faculty size at BA-granting departments. On average, tenured or tenure-track faculty comprised 68.1% of all faculty members, with tenured full professors the largest single faculty rank (29.0% of all faculty).
As with total average faculty size, the number of new hires was greatest at PhD-granting departments and lowest at BA-granting combined and social science departments. Adjunct faculty made up the plurality of new hires (38.9% of the total), with public institutions hiring substantially more adjunct faculty than their private counterparts. 27.6% of new hires were tenure-track assistant professors.
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View the full report here.
