Are 2 Master's Better Than 1?

By Rob Jenkins

Is it an advantage on the community-college job market to be qualified to teach in two fields?

As someone who has written in these pages about careers at two-year colleges, I've been been asked that question frequently by aspiring faculty members.

"I am working on a master's in international relations," wrote one reader, noting that the program will meet the minimum of 18 credits that most two-year colleges require to teach political science at the undergraduate level. "I enjoy history," the writer continued, "and am considering taking the extra classes to reach the 18 credits in history too. Do community colleges want someone who can teach in two separate social-science departments?"

The answer: It may depend on where you're applying, and on whether the two areas in which you teach are housed together.

I've been involved in faculty searches at four two-year colleges -- two of them small and rural, the other two large and urban or suburban. At the smaller colleges, we certainly did have an interest in hiring people who could "wear more than one hat." In fact, at one of them, we routinely advertised for faculty members who could teach in two related disciplines, such as English and speech.

However, I can't remember either of the larger colleges ever placing such an ad. Nor was I ever told, as a member or chairman of search committees, that we should specifically look for someone who could teach in a second discipline. In fact, I personally know only a handful of full-time faculty members at my current college (a large, multi-campus, metropolitan institution) who actively teach in more than one discipline.

That's just my institutional memory, of course, but I can see a few practical reasons for the difference. Depending on how small the college is, there may be a financial need for one person to teach in more than one discipline. In certain disciplines, where only a few sections are offered each term, the only way to get a qualified full-time person may be to hire someone who can also teach in a more "popular" discipline.

Rather than rely solely on my impressions, however, I conducted an informal survey of colleagues at my own and other two-year institutions.

Chris, a science professor at a small, rural college who teaches physics and chemistry, notes that his institution has hired "some rare combinations."

"Do you realize," he asks, "how hard it is to find someone with at least 18 hours in both business and accounting? How about sociology and criminal justice? But we have only 21 full-time faculty members. And only two sections of accounting each term, and only one class of criminal-justice students for those courses that we teach each term."

Ray, who has taught and held various administrative positions at a number of two-year colleges and is currently chairman of a social-science department, believes "it would be to an applicant's advantage to be qualified in a second area," especially in something like anthropology or geography. In those disciplines, he says, there are rarely "enough sections to justify a full-time tenure-track position."

I did find some exceptions to the general rule that large, urban colleges shy away from such dual hires.

Frank, chairman of a humanities department at a large suburban campus, says his college often hires instructors to teach in more than one area: "I would say definitely yes, that certification in two related fields makes people more attractive for tenure-track work." He has faculty members who teach reading and English (one of the more frequent combinations), film and speech, English and speech, and English and ESL. He also hopes to hire, in the near future, he says, people who can teach English and theater, English and journalism, and religion and philosophy.

An important caveat, however, comes from another colleague -- Don, a former professor and chairman of a science department who is now an academic dean: "The problem with a candidate having two teaching fields is that they must be similar enough to fall under the same department. It is unfortunate, but most colleges are so departmentalized that it is rare to see two departments share a person."

It's worth noting that all of the disciplinary combinations I've mentioned -- physics and chemistry, geography and anthropology, English and speech -- meet that criterion.

But job candidates shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that departments at community colleges are as rigidly separated as they are at many four-year institutions.

The reader who sent the original question described political science and history as "two separate social-science departments." What that correspondent may not understand -- and the same goes for many first-time applicants -- is that departments at two-year colleges are almost always broadly based groupings of related disciplines.

Rather than a bunch of separate programs, we have departments of humanities, which might include English, speech, philosophy, and religion; departments of social sciences (psychology, sociology, history, political science); and science departments (biology, chemistry, physics).

On a practical level, what that means for faculty members is that the chairman who schedules and assigns the staffing for physics classes is probably doing the same for chemistry. It's just common sense to assume that that person might appreciate the flexibility inherent in being able to use the same faculty member in more than one subdiscipline -- especially at small colleges where, without that flexibility, some sections might go uncovered or be taught only by adjuncts.

The same advantage, however, does not apply when the faculty member teaches in two areas that aren't closely related or housed together -- English and history, for example.

In that case, a faculty member's desire to teach in both areas at a community college could create conflict between the department heads, who might be unwilling to let courses in their own area go unstaffed in order to share a faculty member who also wants to teach in another department.

A related question that I have also heard from some readers: Is it better for a job seeker at two-year colleges to have a Ph.D. in one field, or two master's degrees in different but related fields? My ad hoc panel of experts was somewhat divided on that.

Mariam, chairwoman of a large science department, says her urban college would probably prefer the Ph.D., but she thinks "that most two-year colleges would rather have someone who is qualified in multiple areas."

Don, the academic dean, believes that "having the doctorate in the field gives one a better chance at getting an interview than does having a second teaching field," but he is quick to point out that the higher degree isn't necessarily an advantage during the interview, where what often counts most is who performs better before the hiring committee. He recalls one search where an applicant with a Ph.D. did very poorly during the interview and a candidate fresh from a master's program "gave a great interview. The better interviewee got the job."

Perhaps the best advice comes from Chris, the science professor at a rural college, who warns, "Graduate school for the sake of employability is always a bad idea. Get a Ph.D. because you want to, not because it is the ticket to your dream job. Pick up two master's degrees because you like the subjects, not because a school is more likely to hire you. How happy will you be teaching chemistry if you really don't like it? Will you be any good for your students?"

In the end, you must remember why you chose the community-college sector: You want to teach. Moreover, you chose your graduate major because you thought you would enjoy teaching that subject. If there's more than one subject that interests you, by all means, take enough graduate courses to be qualified to teach in that area, too.

Having the second field may or may not help you get a job, but it could help make your job more fulfilling once you get one.

With this article, we begin a new monthly column on faculty and administrative careers at two-year colleges. If you would like to write for the column, or have a topic to propose -- on any aspect of finding jobs at two-year colleges, getting promoted, or doing the jobs -- we would like to hear from you. Send your ideas to careers@chronicle.com.