Dr. Eli Joseph Redefines Academic Comeback from Rejected PhD Applicant to Impactful Professor

On Sunday, Dec. 11, the New York University School of Professional Studies conducted a University Commencement ceremony for the Summer and Fall Class of 2022 graduates at the NYU Skirball Center.

Dr. Eli Joseph, an instructor in the Business and Systems Department, attended the commencement ceremony to celebrate the accomplishments of the students, faculty and staff members throughout the uncertain year. This is a bittersweet moment for Joseph, who was able to turn his rejection into succession. Back in 2016, Joseph was rejected by the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. Fast forward to today, Dr. Joseph is currently teaching graduate students at the same institution that initially rejected him.

In an Instagram message, Dr. Joseph shared the introspective mindset behind his journey, according to a release. In this post he states:

I wasn’t cool enough to be a Ph.D. student at New York University (@nyuniversity) in 2016 but it feels so cool wearing this size 7 tam and 71” doctoral gown as a faculty member at New York University! A message to every graduating student who currently feels overlooked: Appreciate the underestimating process before they try to overrate their expectations of you while depreciating your future accomplishments. Congratulations to our Class of 2022 and 2023 graduates at the School of Professional Studies!

Though Joseph experienced a plethora of rejections from various firms and institutions, he has overcome these challenges and used his failures as fuel for motivation to succeed. He recently delivered two TEDx talks this fall entitled “Time Is Your Biggest Competition” and “No Trace, No Case”

In addition to teaching at NYU, Eli Joseph serves as a faculty member at Columbia University and UCLA. Joseph is also a partner at ExamOne, a Quest Diagnostics company. He is the author of the book entitled The Perfect Rejection Resume.

Dr. Joseph’s work has appeared in Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, AdWeek, Blavity, The Enterprisers Project, The Harvard Business Review, and many other publications. He earned his Doctorate in Business Administration from Felician University becoming the first-ever graduate to complete the curriculum at the age of 24.