Synopsis of Chicago Trip

I'm back from Chicago. The trip went well. Actually, UIC's stock has risen as a result of the trip. My meetings with potential advisors---all reputable political philosophers---went well. The students were friendly; the office environment was very collegial. The funding offer is really good. Chicago is a cool city, and would be a fun place to live.

But there remains a concern---job placement record. One of the (very important) consideration in making a decision is what kind of job prospects one will have with a degree from a certain school. By looking at their website, I could tell that UIC grads had trouble competing for the kinds of jobs I aspire to compete for. (I want to eventually end up at a research instution, which means a light teaching load and lots of research time.) My concern was confirmed by my meeting with the placement director at UIC. He flat out told me that my job prospects would be better if I went to any of my other options. Of course, he thinks UIC has its advantages (as do I), but he is realistic about the job market and UIC grads' job prospects.

I visit Arizona on Sunday. After that visit (next week sometime) we will make a decision between UIC and Arizona---basically rule one out---and then wait to see what happens with the wait list.

Oh by the way, I declined St. Andrews' offer today because they and I were unable to come up with enough funding to make it feasible to go there.