Want to change the demographics of CS PhDs? You only have to change a handful of schools

Terrific insight from my colleague Charles Isbell. Since school rankings matter so much in faculty hiring, you only have to change things at a few schools to change the field. We could broaden participation in CS PhD’s much more easily than you might think.

Professor Charles Isbell of Georgia Tech delivered an “aha moment” for me. More than 60 percent of the faculty at the top 4, 10, 20, and 25 computer science programs are graduates of one of these same programs. The ranking of one’s PhD institution is a huge factor in hiring—departments hire at their own rank or higher. This is common knowledge, but Charles connected it to diversity. If the very top programs would make a truly concerted effort to increase the participation of women and minorities in PhD programs, the effect would propagate throughout the entire computer science field. Only a few people, those who lead and serve on the PhD admissions committees, can make it happen.

via 2015 Faculty Summit informs and inspires – Microsoft Research Connections Blog – Site Home – MSDN Blogs.