Assistant Dean Interview Questions

If you’re searching for jobs as an Assistant Dean, we have a list of interview questions you can expect to be asked (or that you will want to ask your interviewer), so arm yourself with appropriate answers! We recommend searching on multiple reliable websites so you’re prepared with answers for the interview questions that you might not already know.

How can you prepare to interview for an Assistant Dean? Take a look at these Assistant Dean interview questions you’ll want to find out how to answer OR ask!

What is the long term plan for this school/institution?
What is the outside perception of this department? Strong? Unified? Interactive?
What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
What resources are available to initiate student research?
What are the indirect costs of grants?
What are the expectations for the summer? On campus? Or is field work OK?
What are typical teaching opportunities, across the college?
Are teaching training opportunities available? What kinds? How often?
What is the schedule and mechanism of faculty review?
What are the benefits?
What is your vision for the department/school? Where is it going in the next 5 years? 10?
What are current plans for future hires?
What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
What kind of graduate students do you attract?
Is there department research support available? Of what kinds?
What secretarial help is available for working with courses? With grants/papers?
What is the teaching expectation through time? How many courses?
What would this person teach over the next 3 years?
How much flexibility in what an individual teaches?
Are TAs available? For what courses?
What are the teaching labs like?
What non-teaching expectations are there?
What are the 'standing' department committees?
On what criteria are decisions made?
What are the unwritten criteria?
What percent succeed?
What are the criteria for promotion to full professor?
What do you like best about this place?
What do you like least about this place?
What are hiring priorities for the future?
What else does a newcomer need to know?
What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
What do you wish you'd known?
How about the students? Are they motivated? What do they do after graduation?
What support is available for graduate student research? Enough computers?
What support is available for undergrad research?
What would you like this person to teach over the next 3 years?
How much flexibility in what an individual teaches?
Is this a Mac based or PC based department? What are the student computer labs like?
What percent of your time is spent on teaching, research and service?
What is the average class size?
What is the average lab size?
What is your overall work load?
What is the policy on sabbaticals? Do they have them? When? Are they automatic?
On what criteria are decisions made?
What are the unwritten criteria?
What are the criteria for promotion to full professor?
What's the best thing about this department?
What could be improved?
What's the best thing about this institution?
What could be improved?
What skills/courses/seminars could I offer that would be especially helpful to you?
What's a typical grad course like?
What classes are hard? How much out of class work is there? Is there a lot of variation among different sections of the same course?
What's the grad curriculum, beyond the core courses? Do students take many courses?
What's this statistics core course like from a student perspective?
What do you need that I could buy with startup funds to help the community?
What is the main point of your dissertation?
What are your professional goals?
What is your concept of teaching in a 4-year college as opposed to a research university?
What specific research will you pursue if you are selected? How do you anticipate funding it?
What other courses might you teach?
What strengths would you bring to the department?
What would you expect from this department and administration?
What research will you be doing when you show up here?
What projects will you start next?
What teaching would you like to do?
What is your philosophy of grad student training? How will you support students? What types of projects do you expect them to work on?
What do you contribution to the department that is not already well covered by the faculty?
What makes you think you could ever get any outside funding?
What is the best idea you ever had?
What kinds of tools would be available in your lab for grad student use?
In what areas do you think your work would uniquely contribute to this department?
What meetings do you attend? What societies do you belong to?
To what degree do you see integrating grad students into your research program?
What's your perspective on grad student funding?
What types of mentoring have you experienced -- and what would you do similarly or differently?
What do you see as the major challenges of teaching at a large (small) university?
What do you want to teach? (grad, undergrad, seminars) Statistics?
Do you have time to do your own research when you're teaching?
How much of the department is already tenured? Is there a quota?
Who decides tenure and how?
How do you like having required core courses?
What specific research will you pursue if you are selected? How do you anticipate funding it?
How has your experience and training prepared you to teach the courses required?
What is your philosophy of grad student training? How will you support students? What types of projects do you expect them to work on?
How do you help grad students get started on a project?
How would you respond to a student who is floundering (early vs. late)?
How would you handle an interpersonal conflict in your lab?
Graduates: who applies? who is accepted? who comes here? Where do they go after graduation?
What is your vision for the department/school? Where is it going in the next 5 years? 10?
Where do you see your work going in the next 10-20 years?
Why do you want this job?
What relevant Assistant Dean experience do you have?
What were your annual goals at your most current employer?
What kinds of situations do you find most stressful?
What support training would you require to be able to do this Assistant Dean job?
What five words would best describe you as Assistant Dean?
What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
If you worked as Assistant Dean, what are you doing?
What are three positive character traits you don't have?
On taking this Assistant Dean job, what would be your major contribution?
What is the most difficult thing about working with you?
What personal qualities or characteristics do you most value?
What are the qualities of a good Assistant Dean?
How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
How would you describe your work style?
How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
How do you go about setting goals with subordinates?
Describe a group project of which you are particularly proud, what was your contribution?
What was the last project you headed up, and what was its outcome?
What is the most enjoyable part of Assistant Dean job?
What will you do if you don't get this position?
What would be your ideal working environment?
How would you describe the experience of working as Assistant Dean?
Why do you believe you are qualified for this Assistant Dean position?

Have answers to any of the above for your fellow job seekers? Share them in the comments here!