Should the length of a research statement and a teaching statement be the same?

Question

I am applying to a faculty position that emphasizes both research and undergraduate teaching. The application asks for a research statement and a teaching statement.I realize that both documents are usually recommended to be 1-2 pages long and that you should always err on the side of brevity. My question is: **would it be an issue if the lengths of the 2 documents are significantly different**? For example, if my teaching statement is 2 pages but my research statement is only 1 page. Will a hiring committee automatically view this as the candidate being unbalanced? In other words, does disparity in length between the 2 documents outweigh the content of the documents?Lastly, would it make a difference depending on the emphasis of the program? For example, should the research statement always be longer (or as long as) a teaching statement if the school places greater emphasis on research (and vice versa) ?

Answer 1

You pose three questions as you approach your faculty application:

1) Would it be an issue if the lengths of the two documents are significantly different?

2) Will a hiring committee automatically view this as the candidate being unbalanced?

3) Would it make a difference depending on the emphasis of the program?

Based upon your questions, it would seem that you have a considerable disparity between your research and/or teaching experience, and you are concerned that this will jeopardize your candidacy.

At the risk of sounding cavalier, which is not my intention, I would encourage you to shift from what you can't control (what they're looking for) to what you can control (a compelling presentation of your unique qualifications, abilities, and contributions thus far in your career). Let's set aside your three questions for a moment and ask a more powerful one instead: what do -I- really want the committee to know about my strengths as a teacher and my contributions to research?

Because okay, so what- - you've got an imbalance between your teaching and research. Most of us have gaps in our experience and are stronger in some areas than others! Based upon your three questions, my sense is that you're guessing that the "best" candidate will be "equally" strong in research and teaching. However, unless they flat-out state what they're looking for, we're never certain what the requirements are for a particular position (and even then, the person who is "perfect" on paper can get passed over by the "imperfect" person who brings something that the committee didn't even know they were looking for when they wrote the job description!).

If the imbalance between your teaching and research experience is indeed significant, and you need to "pad" one statement a bit, talk about not only what you did but also what the outcomes were; why did your work make a difference? That can take up some extra space while adding value to the hiring committee as they consider your application.

Best wishes; all will be well!