Excerpt

Chemistry graduate education is under considerable pressure. Pharmaceutical companies, long a major employer of synthetic organic chemists, are drastically paring back their research divisions to reduce costs. Chemical companies are opening new R&D facilities in Asia rather than in the United States to take advantage of growing markets and trained workforces there. Universities, especially public universities, are under significant fiscal constraints that threaten their ability to hire new faculty members. Future federal funding of chemical research may be limited as the federal budget tightens. All of these trends have major consequences for the education of chemistry graduate students in U.S. universities.

To explore and respond to these intensifying pressures, the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology held a workshop in Washington, D.C., on January 23-24, 2012, entitled “Graduate Education in Chemistry in the Context of a Changing Environment.”

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON CHALLENGES IN CHEMISTRY GRADUATE EDUCATION
• BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• 1. Introduction
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
  • QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
• 2. The Nature of the Challenge
  • WORRISOME TRENDS
  • WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
  • THE PERSPECTIVE FROM UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS
  • THE PROBLEM OF ATTRITION
  • EXPERIMENTS IN CHEMISTRY GRADUATE EDUCATION
• 3. Goals of Chemistry Graduate Education
  • THE CHANGING ROLES OF UNIVERSITIES
  • BREADTH VERSUS DEPTH
  • THE EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS AND FACULTY MEMBERS
• 4. Skills Taught in Chemistry Graduate Education
  • THE PERSPECTIVE FROM NEW FACULTY MEMBERS
  • THE PERSPECTIVE FROM INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES
  • THE PERSPECTIVES OF YOUNG INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTS
  • THE PERSPECTIVE FROM OTHER SECTORS
  • THE PERSPECTIVE FROM A VENTURE CAPITALIST
• 5. Structure of Chemistry Graduate Education
  • MASTER'S DEGREES AND DOCTORAL DEGREES
  • FUNDING OF GRADUATE STUDENTS
  • ENGAGING IN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
  • PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY
  • INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
  • BUILDING ON STRENGTHS
• 6. Suggested Ideas to Change Chemistry Graduate Education and Skills to Benefit Students
  • IDEAS FOR CHANGE FOCUSED ON STUDENTS AND FACULTY MEMBERS
  • IDEAS FOR CHANGE FOCUSED ON DEPARMTENT CHAIRS, DEANS, AND OTHER RESEARCH ADMINISTRATORS
• References
• Appendixes
  • A. Committee on Chemistry Graduate Education Statement of Task
  • B. Workshop Agenda
  • C. Biographical Information
  • D. Workshop Attendees

The report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.

The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.