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"How Graduate Education Must Be Changed"
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    Phillip Griffiths (Chair, NAS Study on Graduate Education)

The NAS panel is considering the graduate education process for
scientists and engineers.  They have conducted lots of interviews,
and have received over a hundred written responses.  The report is
still in the review stage.

Major findings:

    Myth: Most Ph.D.'s go on to careers in academia.
    Fact: About half of Ph.D.'s go off to jobs where research is
              not the primary activity.

    Myth: There is a high unemployment and underemployment of
              Ph.D.s.
    Fact: Unemployment is approximately 2.1%, which is about 1/3 of
              the national unemployment rate.  However,
              expectations of a first position (and "first
              employment") is a problem.

    Myth: The number of Ph.D.'s in science and engineering is
              increasing exponentially.
    Fact: Growth of Ph.D.'s is approximately 2-3% each year, with
              most of this occurring in the non-U.S. citizen
              category.  However, growth is twice that of the
              general population.

FACTS: 1) The time to degree and time to employment has increased in
              all fields (up to 40%).
      2) There are more and more Ph.D.'s taking post-doctoral
              positions as their first job.

Some "deluded" solutions:
    1) "Close down some Ph.D. programs" (especially at schools
              other than one's own!)
    2)  Re-design the Ph.D. to be more "vocational."

New scientists and engineers must be more flexible, as they may end
up in non-academic positions, or may be involved in team approaches
to research (as opposed to the traditional "go it alone").

How do we change the system?
 1) We can change the way we reward academic research.
 2) We can change the way we conduct research and graduate
    education.  (The current model is that the Professor runs the
    laboratory, and the research is paramount.)

Solutions?
 1) Make graduate programs more flexible, and provide more
    opportunities for graduate students.  For example:
          a) For some students, a Master's may be sufficient.
          b) There may be a need for a "Two Master's" option.
          c) Ph.D. - should prepare for more than just a career in
              traditional research.
          d) "Enrich" the Ph.D. with a related Master's program or
              with additional formal coursework.
    The idea is to broaden careers, and provide more options.
 2) There should be better information and guidance for graduate
    students.  A national database on employment opportunities and
    trends can be established.  Departments can help by monitoring
    the fates of their own graduate students.
 3) The time to degree could be "tightened."  e.g.,
          Phase I  -  2 years of coursework
          Phase II  -  2-3 years of research training
          Phase III -  "post-doc" phase (for polishing skills)
 4) New kinds of education grants (i.e., education training grants).
    Similar to the Pew Charitable Trust "Training the Future
    Professoriate" program, but with a research component and an
    intent to lessen the time to degree.

The GUIR (Government-University-Industry Roundtable) might be a good
vehicle for implementing this type of change in graduate education.