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Council of Graduate Schools Applauds CSU's Plans to Lauch Professional Science Master's Programs
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has issued a press release which applauds the California State University
system for plans to launch 16 new PSM programs, in a variety of fields, on 12 of its 23 campuses in the next
three years. This initiative is funded, in part, by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Dr. Debra Stewart,
CGS' President, states, "The adoption of the PSM degree by the nation's largest university system will give a huge
boost to the reputation and awareness of an innovative graduate program specifically designed to respond to
workforce needs." The CGS press release can be read by
clicking here.
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New Science Master's Education Book
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has published a broad and comprehensive guide to best
practices, activities and processes required to create a professional master’s program which
draws on the experiences of participants in the CGS Professional Master’s Initiative.
This book provides essential advice for graduate deans, universities and faculty on the
development of collaborative degrees as well as interaction with business, industry and government
to devise programs that respond to regional employer needs. The book is available from CGS by
clicking here.
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Science Master's Salary Tables Updated
Seventy-one science master's salary tables have been updated on the site. The updated tables can be accessed by
going to the Category search option under the Data/Statistics main menu item and selecting either A. Master's Enrollment,
B. Characteristics of Master's Students, E. Engineering or I. Science Master's Salaries.
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New Book on Master’s Education
A new book by Judith Glazer-Raymo tracks the development and professionalization of the master’s
degree. Professionalizing Graduate Education: The Master’s Degree in the Marketplace analyzes
the master’s degree in 14 disciplines and three interdisciplinary fields to illustrate the changing
landscape of graduate education. The author identifies initiatives that support continued innovation
in master’s education, and concludes with recommendations for extending the discourse on graduate
and professional education in the U.S. The book is available for $26 from Jossey-Bass.
Click here to order the publication or to read an excerpt.
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Council on Competitiveness Recommends NSF Fund Professional Science Master’s Programs
On December 15, 2004, the Council on Competitiveness, an organization of CEOs,
university presidents, and labor leaders, released the recommendations from its
year-long National Innovation Initiative (NII). Included in the Initiative’s
final report is a recommendation that the National Science Foundation fund
Professional Science Master’s (PSM) programs at insitutions that demonstrate
innovatiave approaches to orienting master’s level degree programs toward
scientific or technical skills needed in the U.S. workforce.
Click here for more information.
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Professional Science Master's Can Fill Gaps in Federal Scientific Workforce
Professional science master's (PSM) degrees - interdisciplinary science and
math-based programs aimed at preparing graduates for entry-level professional
positions in business, government and non-profit sectors - are highly
"configurable" to gaps in the federal workforce, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Program Director Michael Teitelbaum said Sept. 30. The remarks were made at a
joint National Academies/Council on Competitiveness roundtable in Washington, D.C.
Click here
to access a press release concerning Dr. Teitelbaum's remarks and the roundtable.
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New and Updated Education and Employment Data Tables
More than 90 new and updated data tables on science master’s education and employment have been
posted on the “data/statistics” page of this website. The data tables provide a comprehensive
picture of master’s-level enrollments and degrees in science, mathematics and engineering, broken
out by fine field, gender, race/ethnicity and citizenship. Also available are 14 updated graphs
on enrollment in science and engineering at master’s-granting institutions and dozens of graphs
depicting the latest science and engineering master’s degree data. To access the data tables,
click here.
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New Master of Science in Biotechnology Program
Northeastern University announced the creation of a new Master of Science in Biotechnology
program which will be funded by the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new master's program is a follow-on program to the
successful Master of Science in Bioinformatics program which was launched in the Fall of 2001.
Students enrolled in the Biotechnology Masters program will gain core science knowledge,
as well as instruction in business management, presentation and writing skills, and
ethical issues relevant to biotechnology. In addition, students will participate in
six-month internships in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry. The objective of
the program is to prepare students for immediate productivity in industry, government
or clinical settings upon completion.
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Click here for the complete PRNewswire article.
Click here
to access the program information page on this website.
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New Master of Science in Petrophysics Program
The Petroleum Engineering Department
of the University of Tulsa and Network of Excellence in Training, L.L.C.
(NExT) announced the creation of
a new Master of Science in Petrophysics degree program at the University of Tulsa.
Students accepted into the new graduate program will first participate in NExT's
rigorous Subsurface Integration Program (NSIP), which is held at the NExT regional
training center, located on the University of Tulsa campus in Tulsa, Okla. While
participating in the NSIP program, attendees will also take two graduate-level courses
from the university. Following the completion of the NSIP program, students will remain for
one additional semester, taking two more courses, plus finalize their field study
project report, which will serve as the Masters' project.
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Click here for the complete Business Wire article.
Click here
to access the program information page on this website.
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Characteristics of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released
a report on
Characteristics of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates. The report presents
data from the National Survey of Recent College Graduates (NSRCG) on the characteristics
of men and women who received a bachelor's or master's degree in a science or engineering
(S&E) field from U.S. academic institutions during the 1998-99 and 1999-00 academic
years. The data were collected in 2001 and 2002 and reflect the status of individuals
as of April 2001.
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Click here for highlights of the report.
Click here
to access the full report.
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Minority Engagement in Professional Science Master's (PSM) Programs
A recent presentation by Dr. Orlando Taylor, Vice Provost for Research and
Graduate Dean at Howard University, discussed the
importance of Professional Science Master's (PSM) programs for minority-serving
institutions (MSIs).
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According to Dr. Taylor, many factors contribute to the PSM
opportunity for MSIs, including an aging scientific workforce, the emergence of
new fields, the need for more domestic workers, the rapid growth in master's
education, and the increase in the number of people of color in the general and
higher education populations. MSIs are the best institutions in the country to
address diversity issues in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM),
concludes Taylor, not only because MSIs have had a long tradition in master's
education, but because traditional research universities have "foolishly shunned
master's education."
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The presentation was originally made at a January 9-10, 2004 meeting held at
the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).
The meeting was hosted by UTEP in collaboration with Howard University, and
addressed minority engagement in PSM programs.
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Click here for the PowerPoint slides from Dr. Taylor's presentation.
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Announcing the University of Arizona Master's Ambassadors!
This group of students in the University of Arizona Professional Master's
Degree in Applied Science and Business was formed to serve the needs of
perspective students who have questions about the UA Program, but want to
speak directly with students and not with coordinators.
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Interested individuals can go to the University of Arizona
Master's Ambassadors webpage, and
contact any of the students in the group for information and answers to questions
about the Program, from a student's point of view!
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Check it out!
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Conference Board Study Shows Professional Science Master's Degree Students
Do Well In Job Market
A Conference Board study released on May 8, 2003 shows that students earning
“Professional Science Masters” degrees are faring well in landing jobs. This
is especially true in the biotech industry, where employment has more than
doubled to 191,000 over the last decade.
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A survey of PSM graduates shows that about 90% got jobs in their chosen
fields. About 39% name biotechnology as the industry where they are now
employed or are seeking jobs. This is more than twice as many as the
second most-cited industry, computer hardware and software. Among other
industries named were business services and chemical and biopharmaceutical.
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For more details on The Conference Board study visit
www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=2141.
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CPST Receives Funding to Promote Science and Mathematics Master's Degrees
The Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) has
received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to conduct a series
of activities designed to promote the revitalization of the master’s degree
in the sciences and mathematics.
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Activities performed as part of this effort include:
• An in-depth review of the state of science master’s education and employment.
• Providing support to professional societies.
• Developing a cross-disciplinary database on master’s education.
• Convening an all-Sloan professional science master’s program conference.
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For more information, contact Nicole Di Fabio, (202) 326-7080 or
info@cpst.org.
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