About Profspring

Profspring is a project by Craig Froehle at the University of Cincinnati. It maps academic genealogies across generations of PhD advisor-advisee relationships. The name is a portmanteau of "prof" (from "professor") and "offspring," because all scholars are, in some sense, the intellectual offspring of those who trained them. Profspring seeks to connect scholars by making these lineages visible and searchable.

How to use Profspring

Search — Enter a name in the search bar on the home page. If that person is in our database, you'll see their full lineage tree — ancestors above, descendants below.

Add yourself — If you have a PhD, you can create an account and add your own profile, including your dissertation advisor(s). Your entry helps extend the tree for everyone connected to you.

Invite your advisees — Once you've added your profile, you can invite your own PhD advisees to join by email. They'll receive a link to claim their profile and add their details.

Confirm connections — If someone lists you as their advisor, you'll see a Confirm button on your profile page to verify the relationship.