National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: 1 Innovation
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 17
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 18
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 19
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 20
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 21
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 22
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 23
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 24
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 25
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 26
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 27
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 28
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 29
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 30
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 31
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 32
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 33
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 34
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 35
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 36
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 37
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 38
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 39
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 40
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 41
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 42
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 43
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 44
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 45
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 46
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 47
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 48
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 49
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 50
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 51
Suggested Citation:"2 Master's Education." National Research Council. 2008. Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12064.
×
Page 52

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

2 Master’s Education The Landscape of Master’s Education Students increasingly find master’s education a valuable pursuit. As measured by the number of degrees awarded, education at the master’s level is growing faster than other sectors of postsecondary education in the United States. Higher education institutions awarded 230,509 master’s degrees in 1970-1971. By 2004-2005, they awarded 574,618, an increase of almost 150 percent. As shown in Table 2-1, this rate of growth was more than double that for bachelor’s degrees and research doctorates during the same time period. Since 1980, the rate of growth in master’s degrees awarded has also been significantly higher than for professional degrees in law, medicine, and dentistry. The professional disciplines of education and business dominate the master’s degree programs in the United States. Together they grant 54 percent of all master’s degrees. As shown in Table 2-2 (and Appendix H, Table H-1), these fields—along with health sciences, engineering, public administration and social services professions, psychology, and computer and information sciences—comprise 80 percent of all master’s degrees awarded in 2004-2005. With the exception of education, these fields are also among the fastest growing at this level. Other fields with higher than average growth, as shown in Figure 2-1, include physical education/ exercise science, criminal justice/security and protective services, legal   http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2007/section5/table.asp?tableID=741 (accessed Oc- tober 21, 2007). 17

18 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS Table 2-1  Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral Degrees Conferred and Percent Change over Time, Selected Years, 1970-1971 to 2004- 2005 Year Bachelor’s Master’s Doctorates 1970-1971 839,730 230,509 32,107 1975-1976 925,746 311,771 34,064 1980-1981 935,140 295,739 32,958 1985-1986 987,823 288,567 33,653 1990-1991 1,094,538 337,168 39,294 1995-1996 1,164,792 406,301 44,652 2000-2001 1,244,171 468,476 44,904 2001-2002 1,291,900 482,118 44,160 2002-2003 1,348,503 512,645 46,024 2003-2004 1,399,542 558,940 48,378 2004-2005 1,439,264 574,618 52,631 Percent change, 71% 149% 64% 1970-1971 to 2004-2005 Percent change, 24% 41% 18% 1995-1996 to 2004-2005 SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education General Information Survey, “Degrees and Other Formal Awards Conferred,” surveys 1970-1971 through 1985-1986 and 1990-1991 through 2004-2005; and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, “Completions Survey” (C: 91-99), Fall 2000 through Fall 2005. (See Digest of Education Statistics, 2006, Table 257, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/ digest/d06/tables/dt06_257.asp, accessed October 22, 2007.) research and studies, and a catchall field, multidisciplinary and interdis- ciplinary studies. With the exception of computer science, the numbers of master’s degrees awarded in natural sciences fields are both small and slow growing. Master’s degrees awarded in the biological sciences grew 27 percent from 1975-1976 to 2004-2005. The number in the mathematics and the physical sciences grew just 16 and 5 percent, respectively, during this 30-year period. Though career-oriented fields now dominate master’s degree pro- grams, this has not always been the case. In Judith Glazer-Raymo’s words, “Throughout its long history, the master’s degree has been variously characterized by graduate faculty and deans as an intermediate degree,

MASTER’S EDUCATION 19 Table 2-2  Master’s Degrees Conferred, by Field, 2004-2005 Field Number Percentage Education 167,490 29 Business, management, marketing, and personal 142,617 25 and culinary services Health professions and related clinical sciences 46,703 8 Engineering and engineering technologies 35,133 6 Public administration and social service 29,552 5 professions Psychology 18,830 3 Computer and information sciences and support 18,416 3 services Biological sciences, physical sciences, and 18,354 3 mathematics Social sciences, psychology, and history 16,952 3 Other 80,571 14 Total 574,618 100 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2004-05 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2005. (See Digest of Educa- tion Statistics, 2006, Table 258, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d06/tables/dt06_258. asp, accessed October 22, 2007.) signifying its location following the baccalaureate and preceding the doc- torate, as a ‘predoctoral’ or ‘intermediate’ year of graduate school or stepping-stone to the doctorate.” Indeed, graduate education that pre- pares students for the doctorate and professional education that prepares students for practice in law and medicine took divergent paths in the first half of the 20th century. The award of a master’s degree in the context of doctoral education signified either a “stepping-stone” en route to the doctorate or a “consolation prize” for those who were not admitted to candidacy or who dropped out. Professional degrees, by contrast, served as credentials for practice. The surge in the number of master’s degrees awarded in the second half of the 20th century was generated by increases in education, business, and other professionally oriented fields. Indeed, one important thrust of   Judith Glazer-Raymo, Professionalizing Graduate Education: The Master’s Degree in the Mar- ketplace (ASHE Higher Education Report, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2005), 1.

20 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS Computer/information sciences 607% Physical educ/exercise sciences 555% Health sciences 284% Business 235% Criminal Justice/Security 233% Multi/interdisciplinary 230% Legal rsearch 189% Communication 128% Engineering 98% Public administration 94% Psychology 85% TOTAL ALL FIELDS 84% Theology 78% Area/ethnic studies 77% Architecture 76% Visual/performing arts 50% Agriculture 42% Liberal arts 40% Education 33% Biological sciences 27% Philosophy 21% Mathematics/statistics 16% Social sciences/history 6% Physical sciences 5% English -2% Family/consumer science -16% Library science -23% Foreign languages -23% -100% 0% 100% 200% 300% 400% 500% 600% 700% Figure 2-1  Percentage of change in number of master’s degrees awarded by discipline, 1975-1976 to 2004-2005. 2-1 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statis- tics, 2004-2005 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2005. (See Digest of Education Statistics, 2006, Table 258, http://nces.ed.gov/­ programs/digest/d06/tables/dt06_258.asp, accessed October 22, 2007.)

MASTER’S EDUCATION 21 change in the last several decades has been toward the professionalization of master’s education. So, the master’s degree now means different things to different stake- holders and has a varied purpose across fields. To some, this has seemed a source of confusion or even chaos. To others, this ability to mean different things to different people in varied settings is the key to its “silent suc- cess” as a degree and its ability to be responsive to the changing needs of both students and society. “Students pursue master’s degrees,” writes the Council of Graduate Schools, “to prepare for further advanced study or for entry into public school or community college teaching, to improve and upgrade their professional skills, to change professional fields, and to explore their own personal intellectual development.” Many factors have spurred this change in master’s education. Primary factors have been the need for students to obtain sufficient knowledge in an area of practice and to acquire an awareness of professional standards in order to gain access to and recognition in a profession. Professional and master’s education in business, public administration, and public health developed to meet these needs in response to the demands of the market- place as institutions adapted to important changes in our society, econ- omy, or government. (See Appendix F.) The development of the master of business administration (MBA) is illustrative. In 1881, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania became the first institution to offer such a degree, but the MBA degree did not immediately take off. Only in the 20th century did it grow in popularity in response to ­ employers’ need for staff who could apply scientific methods to management and labor as American industry matured. Only after World War II did pressure from accreditors and foundations lead to graduate rather than under- graduate business schools. Business school curricula have evolved over the last century with the development of new management approaches: quality control in the 1920s; operations research and cybernetics by the 1950s; total quality management in the 1980s; and reengineering in the 1990s—all further responses to industry change. The development of professional education in public administration and public health has followed similar trajectories, and in these fields the master’s degree supplanted the bachelor’s as the credential for entry   As the award of so many master’s degrees in what are, for most recipients, areas of pro- fessional practice, Judith Glazer-Raymo suggests that for many, professional and master’s education are re-converging. Ibid., 16.   Clifton Conrad, Jennifer Grant Haworth, and Susan Bolyard Millar, A Silent Success: Master’s Education in the United States (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993).   Council of Graduate Schools, Professional Master’s Education: A CGS Guide to Establishing Programs (Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools, 2006), ix.   Glazer-Raymo, Professionalizing Graduate Education. Conrad et al., A Silent Success.

22 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS Box 2-1 Master’s Education for Science and Mathematics Teachers The most frequently awarded master’s degrees in the United States are in education, with nearly 170,000 in the 2004-2005 academic year. Teachers’ sala- ries are generally strongly linked to degrees earned and courses taken, as well as time in service. Education master’s programs are therefore important factors in the teacher professional development enterprises that are ubiquitous in state and local elementary and secondary education systems. In her book Profession- alizing Graduate Education, Judith Glazer-Raymo asserts, “The master’s degree is a pivotal step toward professionalization of teaching.” Though that assertion is consistent with the position our committee has taken here with respect to non- research careers in the sciences, the master’s degree in education does not fall within our charge. (Another NRC committee, The Committee on the Study of Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States, will issue a report address- ing this issue within several months of our committee’s report.) Nevertheless, we would suggest that attention be given to the development of professional science master’s degree programs designed specifically for science teachers. Like other aspects of our K-12 educational systems, education master’s programs have be- come the focus of increasing attention and concerns about their quality, coherence, and performance accountability. To help address the issue of teacher quality in science and mathematics education, Rising Above the Gathering Storm recom- mends providing grants to research universities to offer, over five years, 50,000 current middle and high school science, mathematics, and technology teachers two-year part-time master’s degree programs that focus on rigorous science and mathematics content and pedagogy. The report offers as a model for the action the University of Pennsylvania Science Teacher Institute. In addition to the natural science content, we offer that such programs could also focus on exploring the growing body of research-based knowledge of optimal pedagogical techniques in the teaching of science.   OURCE: Judith Glazer-Raymo, Professionalizing Graduate Education: The Master’s Degree S in the Marketplace (ASHE Higher Education Report, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2005), 1. into the field. In other fields, the acquisition of a master’s degree is not necessarily the entry-level professional degree, but it is often important for advancement. In elementary and secondary education, for example, teachers are typically required to obtain additional education and profes- sional development, and their salary increases are often pegged to this continuing education and the award of a master’s degree. (See Box 2-1.) In engineering, the bachelor’s degree has typically been the entry- level professional degree for most subfields, but there has been an almost continuous 130-year discussion regarding the body of knowledge neces- sary in order to become a “professional” engineer. Bruce Seely describes

MASTER’S EDUCATION 23 this discussion as one that has been marked by major studies every 10 to 15 years led by a variety of stakeholders (engineering faculty, practic- ing engineers—as represented by the leading professional societies—and leadership of major employers of engineers). The discussions have been remarkably consistent in focusing on the content and length of the engi- neering curricula and the relationship of theory and practice.  Of significant interest, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has now determined that the traditional baccalaureate is insufficient prep- aration for professional civil engineering work. Twenty-first-century tech- nical requirements, plus nontechnical requirements, cannot be met in four years. ASCE therefore advocates the “Baccalaureate + 30”: a baccalaureate degree plus 30 extra credits, which could be graduate school or distance education. Engineering educators have resisted the trend of other professional fields to respond to the increasing knowledge and complexity of those fields by adding to the education required to prepare for professional practice. Discussions of what the engineer of 2020 should bring to the workplace, however, now presume both increased knowledge and skills in communication, business or economics, the social sciences, cross-cultural studies, and important technologies. Adding this knowledge to a strong engineering curriculum may mean that the first professional degree will need to be the master’s rather than the baccalaureate. Roles of Master’s Education in the Natural Sciences Conrad et al. created a useful typology for categorizing the diverse missions of master’s degree programs. In their scheme, master’s degrees may focus on career preparation, professional development, community service, or preparation for doctoral work. An alternative typology sug- gests master’s degree programs can be categorized as classical, applied, professional, or a hybrid. (See Box 2-2.) In the natural sciences—the physical sciences, biological sciences,   Bruce E. Seely, “The Other Re-engineering of Engineering Education, 1900-1965,” Journal of Engineering Education, July 1999. See http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3886/ is_199907/ai_n8865889/pg_1 (accessed December 12, 2007).   Engineering the Future of Civil Engineering: Report of the Task Committee on the First Professional Degree to the Executive Committee, Board of Direction, American Society of Civil Engineering. See http://www.asce.org/pdf/fpd-execsumm.pdf (accessed October 23, 2007).   National Academy of Engineering, Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2004) and Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2005).

24 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS Box 2-2 Typologies of Master’s Degree Programs In their work on the master’s degree, A Silent Success, Clifton Conrad, Jen- nifer Grant Haworth, and Susan Bolyard Millar suggest master’s programs could be categorized as follows: • Career advancement programs: Master’s programs that focus on providing the student with practical skills for well-understood career opportunities. Typical of this sort of program would be one in education or business offered by a college or university for which master’s education is an institutional focus. • Ancillary programs: Master’s programs that are defined largely in relation to, and are typically subordinate to, doctoral programs. The master’s program is frequently used as a screen for the doctoral program. The master’s degree is of- fered as either a stepping-stone to the Ph.D. or as a consolation prize for those who do not continue. These programs are most often found in institutions that focus on research and doctoral education. • Apprenticeship programs: These master’s programs often coexist with doc- toral programs and may even be found in research-intensive institutions. Very often, the faculty in certain fields, such as electrical engineering, believe in a strong ethic of professional preparation at the master’s level and devote themselves to teaching at the master’s as well as at the doctoral level. • Community-centered programs: Some master’s programs are focused on creating for their participants not only an arena of intellectual engagement but also a strong sense of giving to the communities in which they work. Conrad et al. provide the example of a summer master’s program in English that attracts many teachers from rural and urban areas. Participants are engaged in the substance of the program, which they complete over four summers, and also use what they learn in the schools they return to. —Adapted from Clifton Conrad, Jennifer Grant Haworth, and Susan Bolyard Millar, A Silent Success: Master’s Education in the United States (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993). geosciences, mathematics, and computer science—master’s education is as varied in its purpose as it is in any broad field. As shown in Table 2-3 (and Appendix H, Table H-2), the ratio of master’s degrees to doctor- ates awarded each year ranges from 20.9:1 in computer science (similar to ratios in health fields and some subfields of engineering) to as low as 1.3:1 in the biological sciences and just 1:1 in chemistry. In fields like computer science and the geosciences (a subfield of earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences), students mainly pursue master’s degrees as an inten- tional degree in an applied field for use in professional practice. In natural sciences fields like the biological sciences, physics, and chemistry, by

MASTER’S EDUCATION 25 In Professional Master’s Education, the Council of Graduate Schools offers a similar typology: • Classical Program: A classical program is either a stepping-stone to the Ph.D. . . . or one with the characteristics of a classical program, whether or not described as a terminal master’s (often found when the university does not have a Ph.D. program in the field). • Applied Program: An applied program focuses upon application of the fundamentals of the discipline to a specific area of practice (e.g., aging studies programs within sociology). Such programs often require work entirely within or minimal work outside of the department. Some programs also may lead to a specific, focused career track, but generally do not have a direct relationship to prospective employers. . . . • Professional: A professional master’s degree program often includes ac- tivities and relationships that cross the boundaries between departments and be- tween the university and employers. An active interaction with potential employers provides opportunities for skills development, experience, and contacts that are closely aligned with marketplace demand. • Hybrid: In addition, there are programs with characteristics of more than one of these three categories, so it is possible to have a classical/applied mix or an applied/professional mix. —Excerpted from Council of Graduate Schools, Professional Master’s Education: A CGS Guide to Establishing Programs (Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools, 2006), 43- 44. contrast, the master’s degree is more likely to represent a stepping-stone or consolation prize because doctorate-level scientists are highly sought for both academic and industry careers. Relatively little data exist that differentiate types of masters degrees: those intended master’s pursued for a job or career, those that are a mile- stone en route to the Ph.D., or those awarded when a student leaves a Ph.D. program. For a national cohort, we can estimate a breakdown for the 9,000 graduate students in the biological sciences who entered in 1997: 3,700 earned the master’s degree and no other degree (see Figures 2-2 and 2-3); 700 earned a master’s degree and an advanced degree other than the

26 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS Table 2-3  Ratio of Master’s Degrees to Doctorates Awarded by U.S. Institutions, by Field, 2004 Ratio of Master’s Field Degrees to Ph.D.s Health 21.7 Computer science 20.9 Social sciences 6.7 Engineering 5.9 Psychology 4.6 Mathematics 4.0 Life sciences 1.7   Agricultural science 4.0   Biological sciences 1.3 Physical sciences 1.2   Earth/Atmospheric/Ocean sciences 2.3   Physics 1.4   Chemistry 1.0 Source: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics. 2006. Sci- ence and Engineering Degrees: 1966-2004. Arlington, VA: January 2007. doctorate (for instance, medicine, law, business); 2,400 earned a master’s, mainly as a stepping-stone to the doctorate; and 3,600 earned only a doc- torate. There are no national data sources that will allow us to tease out how many of those 3,700 who earned only a master’s degree intended to do so and how many had hoped to go on to a doctorate and received the master’s as a consolation prize. (See Appendix E.) The University of Utah, however, has compiled just such data for selected fields in the natural sciences and they are likely to be reasonably illustrative of experiences across graduate schools. As seen in Table 2-4, most master’s degrees awarded in geology, mathematics, and meteo- rology were terminal: preparation for a job. The same was true for the university’s Professional Master’s of Science and Technology tracks. By contrast, most master’s degrees awarded in biology and chemistry were merely consolation prizes for those discontinuing doctoral study, and there was a relatively low ratio of master’s degrees to doctorates awarded in those fields. Few Ph.D. recipients in biology or chemistry received a master’s degree en route.10 At a national level, we do know where those who earn master’s degrees in the biological sciences—whether that degree was the original intent of the graduate student or not—will end up working. As shown in 10  David Chapman, Dean of the Graduate School, University of Utah, presentation to the study committee, July 14, 2007.

MASTER’S EDUCATION 27 All 1st S&E MS degrees Social Sciences Physical Sciences Math/Computer Science Life Sciences Engineering 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percent Figure 2-2  S&E master’s degree recipient, with no additional advanced degrees 10 or more years after first S&E master’s degree, by broad field, 2003 (percent- age). 2-2 Source: National Science Foundation (Mark Regets, presentation to committee, July 14, 2007). Sociology/Anthropology Psychology Economics Physics Geoscience Chemistry Mathematical Science Computer Science Biological Science Agric Science Mechanical Engeering Elect. Engeering Civil Engeering Chemical Engeering 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percent Figure 2-3  S&E master’s degree recipient, with no additional advanced degrees 10 or more years after first S&E master’s degree, by fine field, 2003 (percentage). 2-3 Source: National Science Foundation (Mark Regets, presentation to committee, July 14, 2007).

28 Table 2-4  Master’s Degrees Awarded by the University of Utah in Selected Natural Sciences Fields, by Type of Master’s Degree and Relationship to Doctorate, 2002-2003 to 2005-2006 (four years) Master’s MS when Number of (MS) MS Intended Discontinuing MS as a Milestone Master’s Field Degree for Job Ph.D. en route to Ph.D. Ph.D.s per Ph.D. # # % # % # % #   Biology 15 3 20 12 80 0 0 38 0.4 Chemistry 51 3 5 46 90 3 5 76 0.7 Mathematics 93 61 66 1 1 31 33 23 4.0 Physics 58 26 45 12 20 20 35 28 2.1 Geology/Geophysics 46 32 70 0 0 14 30 20 2.3 Meteorology 16 10 60 0 0 6 40 9 1.8 Professional MST 68 68 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 Source: David Chapman, Graduate Dean, University of Utah, presentation to study committee, July 14, 2007.

MASTER’S EDUCATION 29 Table 2-5, 36 percent of those who earn master’s degrees will eventually work in for-profit firms in industry; 20 percent will work in four-year colleges and universities; 17 percent will work in government; and 13 per- cent will work in either K–12 education or community colleges. Indeed, there are slightly more master’s-level biologists employed by for-profit firms than there are doctorates. In industry, master’s-educated biologists may work in research alongside Ph.D.s, but they work more frequently in other areas. One source reports that within the biotechnology workforce as a whole (not just the research segment of it), 19 percent have a Ph.D., 17 percent have a master’s, 50 percent have a baccalaureate, and 14 percent have a degree from a vocational/community college.11 Master’s-educated biologists in the biotechnology sector work in both research and non-research areas of firms and are presumably substitutable for MBAs, JDs, or Ph.D.s in many instances. Science-educated profession- als trained at the master’s level who can bring particular business skills along with their scientific knowledge to the workplace may even be supe- rior to others for certain positions—in what has been a Ph.D.-intensive industry. We would argue, then, that master’s degree programs should be developed to produce individuals who have those skills. Emerging Need for Professional Master’s in the Natural Sciences The natural sciences have been “among the few academic areas that have persisted with the ‘traditional’ model of the master’s degree,” according to the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).12 The fields of com- puter science, applied mathematics, and the geosciences—fields some- times classified as engineering rather than science—are the exceptions to this generalization. In 2005 the Commission on Professionals in Sci- ence and Technology (CPST) coordinated surveys conducted by three scientific societies on master’s programs as a gateway to the workforce. Data from the American Geological Institute, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Society for Industrial Microbiology pro- vide a glimpse of the variations in master’s education in the sciences. It is robust in the geosciences (with 122 departments and 700-plus graduates in 2004) compared to microbiology/biotechnology and applied mathematics (with about 50 programs/departments in each, but barely double digits in graduates). Applied math was seen as primarily business/industry oriented, typically not requiring a thesis but encouraging an off-campus internship. Student quality and employment placements were seen as key 11  Dahms (2003), cited in Judith Glazer-Raymo, Professionalizing Graduate Education, 54. 12  CGS, Professional Science Master’s Education, 4.

30 Table 2-5  Employed Individuals with Highest Degree in the Biological Sciences, by Highest Degree and Employment Sector, 2003 Total 4-Yr College/ Highest Degree Employed For-Profit Self-Employed Nonprofit Univ. Other Educ. Government Number   Bachelor’s 766,200 391,600 45,600 77,800 92,400 61,000 97,900   Master’s 147,800 53,700 7,000 13,500 30,000 19,000 24,700   Doctorates 165,500 41,300 4,300 9,100 89,300 5,000 16,400 Percent   Bachelor’s 100% 51% 6% 10% 12% 8% 13%   Master’s 100% 36% 5% 9% 20% 13% 17%   Doctorates 100% 25% 3% 5% 54% 3% 10% Source: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2006, Appendix Table 3-9.

MASTER’S EDUCATION 31 issues in applied mathematics and the workforce-oriented geosciences. Interaction with students and research productivity dominate faculty concerns in microbiology/biotechnology where the master’s degree is usually a stepping-stone to the doctorate.13 CGS also notes, however, that “recent shifts in the professional char- acter of master’s education in general and the growth of a new type of professional master’s degree within the past decade signal an intent to better prepare graduates for entry-level professional careers to respond to employer and local/regional economic development needs.”14 The driv- ers of change deserve comment as they bear on how new professional- focused master’s degree programs are evolving. First, there are the demands of the marketplace for workers who can enter with key workplace skills, including the ability to: • communicate in writing; • make presentations; • contribute as a member of an often interdisciplinary team; • manage projects effectively; • understand and work toward organizational goals (for example, profits, missions); • understand legal, regulatory, and international dimensions of sci- ence-based work; • understand the commercialization process and how to translate knowledge into product or process innovation; and • understand and apply ethical considerations. Second, evolving science and technology enables or creates fields and lead to new opportunities within industry. As noted in Chapter 1, discov- eries in physics led to advances in data storage that in turn have made such new fields as business intelligence possible. Similarly, the growth in computing power has made possible such fields as bioinformatics, computational finance, and computational linguistics. The application of science to criminal investigation has spawned a revolution in forensic science. These fields require new talent, that is, personnel with advanced science education and practical workplace skills. Further, scientific advances that led to the growth of the biotechnology industry now present opportunities for master’s-educated professionals who can contribute even more to the industry as it matures and requires individuals who have management and leadership skills. Similarly, in the 13  Commission on Professional in Science and Technology. Science Master’s Education Surveys, http://www.sciencemasters.org/Surveys.cfm. 14  CGS, Professional Science Master’s Education, 4, 8.

32 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS information technology industry, the need to provide computer services to clients in a systemic way has generated the need for individuals who have deep knowledge of computing but also the kinds of skills noted above. It has indeed led to a new field: service science, management, and engineering (SSME). The situation in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals sheds more light. The number of doctorate holders in the biological sciences who work in industry—particularly the research-intensive biotechnology industry— has been growing at a faster rate than the number working in academia. If the trend continues, the field will soon look like chemistry: the majority of Ph.D.s work in industry. But the biotechnology industry is maturing and, consequently, its workforce is changing with employment growth in such positions as project manager, laboratory manager, clinical trial monitor, and regulatory affairs specialist that can be filled by graduates of professional science master’s programs. Indeed, increased innovation results not only from scientific discovery, but also from the work of firms to commercialize these discoveries. The pharmaceutical industry is a striking example of this. In this post-genomic era where new discoveries in human biology are being announced at a regular rate, the drug devel- opment pipeline has not kept up with the pace. The lack of innovation is not due to a lack of scientific talent but rather to a lack of scientific talent that knows the commercialization process. This is where PSM programs and KGI’s MBS program can have a true impact. They can educate indi- viduals to not only understand the science but also understand how to commercialize it. Today many students who might have useful and interesting careers in the sciences are not attracted to graduate school in these fields. To many (and to the undergraduate faculty who advise them), graduate education is equated with doctoral education and they have observed that, in many fields, Ph.D. programs are of indeterminate lengths and lead to either uncertain career outcomes or certain career outcomes that are not attrac- tive. Master’s education may be more appropriate, cost-effective, and attractive for these students. A professional master’s program that, unlike the traditional master’s or the Ph.D., is geared to the workplace provides clarity as to curriculum content, time to degree (generally two years), and what one will be able to do upon graduating. Directors of master’s programs in the sciences that are geared to the workplace argue that the students they are attracting are not typically the same ones who would have been attracted to doctoral education. A few graduates from these programs do go on to earn Ph.D.s, but most choose master’s programs to advance their careers in industry, government, or nonprofit organizations. Further, their demographic profile differs from that of doctoral students. For example, 31 of 47 (66 percent) students in

MASTER’S EDUCATION 33 the applied genetics professional science master’s degree program at the University of Connecticut are women. This is representative of a national pattern of serving underrepresented groups. Of approximately 3,400 stu- dents enrolled in professional science master’s degree programs in the fall of 2005, about 50 percent were women, 80 percent were U.S. citizens, and 9 percent were from underrepresented minority groups—all percentages higher than for graduate enrollment in the natural sciences overall. 15 As Carol Lynch of CGS noted in her presentation to the study com- mittee, these programs are attractive to students who want to work in nonacademic sectors, interdisciplinary careers, team-oriented environ- ments, managerial or other professional level positions, or emerging areas of science and scientific discovery. They appeal to students who are seek- ing career advancement, are looking to gain a competitive edge, or are r ­ eentering the workforce in order to refine professional and technical skills.16 New Professional Programs: MBS and PSM While the baccalaureate was the entry-level degree for many profes- sional positions in industry and government in the decades after World War II, many employers now recognize the value of staff who have advanced training, often at the master’s level, that responds to changing competitive needs. Consequently, there is a need for flexibility in graduate education to address employer requirements and workforce needs. Sheila Tobias, Daryl Chubin, and Kevin Aylesworth, in Rethinking Science as a Career, postulated that master’s programs could produce graduates who provide the same level of “expertise and leadership” as professionals do in other fields. They would do so by having the ability “to use the products of scholarship in their work and by being familiar with ‘the practical aspects of emerging problem areas.’”17 In an increas- ingly complex economy, professionals who can bring advanced, often interdisciplinary, application-oriented scientific knowledge to their posi- tion can readily contribute to the objectives, programs, and projects of employers in industry, government, and the nonprofit sector. Philanthropy has played a recent and important role in facilitating the development of professional master’s programs in the natural sci- ences as it had earlier in the development of professional education in the 15  Linda Strasbaugh, University of Connecticut, presentation to the study committee, July 14, 2007. Carol Lynch, Council of Graduate Schools, “Professional Science Master’s Degrees: Background and Overview,” presentation to the study committee, March 28, 2007. 16  Lynch, ibid. 17  Sheila Tobias, Daryl Chubin, and Kevin Aylesworth, Rethinking Science as a Career: Percep- tions and Realities in the Physical Sciences (Research Corporation), 92.

34 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS United States in such areas as business, public health, and medicine. (See Appendix F.) In 1997, the William M. Keck Foundation provided initial funding of $50 million to launch the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (KGI) as an independent college within the Claremont Col- leges Consortium. KGI played a pioneering role in master’s education by developing a two-year program in applied life sciences that culminates in the professional master of bioscience (MBS) degree. (See Box 2-3.) The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has been especially instrumental in promoting broadly the development of master’s programs that produce science-edu- cated professionals. The foundation has provided seed money to establish more than 120 “Professional Science Master’s” (PSM) programs in 50 institutions across 20 states. (See Box 2-4.) PSM programs prepare graduates for work in science outside of aca- demia, which leads to a wider variety of career options than traditional graduate programs provide.18 The MBS and PSM have been developed with several core, defining features in mind, namely, that professional master’s education can provide: • additional scientific knowledge beyond a four-year bachelor’s degree; • more interdisciplinary training, often in informatics, computation, or engineering, than a typical science degree, which allows a student to bring relevant knowledge from a variety of fields to the workplace; • a focus on acquiring scientific and technical knowledge that can be applied in a variety of positions in business, government, or nonprofits rather than acquiring research skills as provided in a doctoral program; • a perspective on a business culture that values applied research and commercialization of scientific discovery; and • job-relevant skills in teamwork, project management, communi- cation, business administration, statistics, ethics, and legal/regulatory issues. Sheila Tobias and Lindy Brigham have noted, “Some programs are more interdisciplinary than others, but all PSM tracks, without excep- tion, feature a quantitative and/or analytic approach to their subject.” 19 (See Box 2-5 for the Council of Graduate Schools’ Guidelines for Formal Recognition as a PSM program.) Careful attention must be paid to the way courses and curricula are 18  The detail in this section draws from Lynch, ibid.; Sheila Tobias and Lindy Brigham, “Report on PSM Programs: Distillation of 2005 Questionnaires,” unpublished report to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, March 31, 2006; and CGS, Professional Master’s Education. 19  Ibid.

MASTER’S EDUCATION 35 Box 2-3 Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences The Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (referred to simply as KGI) was founded in 1997 to address the needs of both biology-focused students and the life sciences industries. The William. M. Keck Foundation provided an initial funding of $50 million (current use and endowment) to establish KGI. An ad- ditional $20 million grant from Keck and $30 million from other sources has been invested subsequently. KGI is a member of the Claremont Colleges Consortium, in Claremont, California. Initially, KGI’s sole degree was the two-year master of bioscience (MBS). The Fully Employed Master of Bioscience Program was added this year for full-time employees. This three-year program is delivered via distance learning and evening classes. The MBS curriculum consists of about 70 percent science/engineering and 30 percent management/ethics, with a strong emphasis on teamwork and problem solving. A summer internship is required as well as an industry-sponsored team project in the second year. KGI’s founding president, Henry Riggs, was formerly the president of Harvey Mudd College, also a Claremont Colleges Consortium member. His vision for KGI grew from the following observations and assumptions: • The 21st century would be dominated by the life sciences, just as the 20th century had been dominated by the physical sciences. • Engineering education is rooted in the physical sciences, giving short shrift to the biological sciences. • Life-science-based companies are underserved by the engineering educa- tion community. • Many positions in life-science-based companies do not require the scien- tific research depth that is characteristic of the Ph.D. degree. • Ph.D. programs are inefficient for students (and employers) seeking biosci- ence professional and managerial careers outside the basic research function. • A project-based, team-oriented curriculum with a strong management com- ponent and close ties to industry was needed. • The innovative curriculum and structure required would be difficult to de- velop within an existing, conservative higher education institution, particularly a research university. Therefore, a new and free-standing school was needed. KGI enrolled its first students in 2000. The 200 MBS graduates from its first six classes are now employed in a variety of positions (typically not basic research) in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and related companies. One employer alone, Amgen, has hired about 20 percent of KGI’s graduates. The KGI Board of Trustees and Advisory Council include representatives of industry, par- ticularly in biotechnology.

36 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS Box 2-4 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Professional Science Master’s Initiative The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation pioneered the development of professional science master’s programs designed to graduate students who would bring both advanced scientific knowledge and practical, professional skills to the workplace. The Sloan Foundation, from January 1997 to September 2007, had approved a total of $17.5 million in grants to promote the PSM and to establish PSM pro- grams, of which $15.9 million has been paid to date. These funds include grants to institutions, university systems, the CGS, the Commission of Professionals in Science and Technology, science societies, and other organizations that promote the PSM. As a result of Sloan’s seed funding, there have been more than 120 pro- gram tracks in 50 institutions across 20 states created in the past decade. Sloan initially provided $125,000 per institutional program track for start-ups in research universities. Later, as knowledge accumulated about how to launch a PSM track, the amount per program dropped to $90,000 to $100,000. This effort resulted in the establishment of about 60 program tracks at research institutions and was fol- lowed by a particular push to establish 12 single-track programs in bioinformatics. In a second-phase effort that began in 2002, Sloan provided planning grants of $7,000 to master’s-focused institutions for the development of program proposals. Implementation awards of $40,000 per track were provided in response to success- ful applications, which resulted in about 30 additional program tracks at master’s institutions. In a more recent phase beginning in 2005, Sloan has also provided funding for system-wide PSM efforts such as one in the California State University system that will result in 16 programs across 112 campuses. Key aspects of the PSM initiative are listed below. • PSM programs are concentrated in the biological sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and computer science. The institution identified the scientific focus of a program track. Very often programs are interdisciplinary in nature. • About 70 percent of coursework in a PSM curriculum typically focuses on science. PSM programs also include what is often referred to as a “plus” compo- nent, which focuses on such workplace skills as communication, project manage- ment, interdisciplinary teamwork, ethics, and, as appropriate, business, legal, or computation. • Programs typically have external advisory boards. Programs see industry, government agencies, and nonprofits as potential employers. Programs are re- quired to offer a summer internship for students. • A new association of PSM directors, the National PSM Association, was formed in 2007. This association will also serve as a clearinghouse of information about PSM programs. SOURCES: Carol Lynch, “Professional Science Master’s Degrees: Background and Overview,” presentation to the study committee, March 28, 2007. Sheila Tobias and Lindy Brigham, “Re- port on PSM Programs: Distillation of 2005 Questionnaires,” unpublished report to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, March 31, 2006. Council of Graduate Schools, Professional Master’s Education: A CGS Guide to Establishing Programs (Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools, 2006).

MASTER’S EDUCATION 37 Box 2-5 Guidelines for Formal Recognition as a Professional Science Master’s (PSM) Program by the Council of Graduate Schools The Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree is a unique professional degree grounded in science and/or mathematics and designed to prepare students for a variety of career options in business, government, or nonprofit organizations. The degree combines advanced coursework in science and/or math with an ap- propriate array of professional skill-development activities to produce graduates highly valued by employers and fully prepared to progress toward leadership roles. The PSM is designed to be self-contained and is not a traditional master’s degree earned en route to or from a Ph.D. degree. The following criteria are intended to provide guidance to faculty and institu- tions planning new PSM programs, or to assist leaders of existing programs who feel their programs meet the criteria to be recognized as a PSM or who wish to modify their programs in order to be recognized as a PSM. The following charac- teristics are deemed important for a master’s program to qualify for PSM status. • Total credits equivalent to a standard master’s degree (approximately two years, full-time equivalent, including projects and internships). • A majority of program course work in graduate-level science and/or math- ematics courses in one or more disciplines. An interdisciplinary curriculum is highly desirable. • Program quality assurance should be provided using the faculty-based mechanisms normally used by the institution for graduate programs in order to ensure institutional integration and sustainability. It is understood that the profes- sional nature of the program may lead to substantial participation by nonacademic practicing professionals, for example as adjunct faculty course instructors or stu- dent internship mentors. • The professional skills component (often called the “plus” component of a “science-plus degree”) may consist of a variety of relevant courses and activities developed in consultation with prospective employers. Examples include business basics, legal and regulatory issues, finance and marketing, communication and teamwork, and are often developed in collaboration with appropriate academic units outside the sciences or taught by adjunct faculty from the targeted employ- ment sector. In addition to courses and workshops, professional skills are usually enhanced by internships and problem-based projects sponsored by employers. The professional component should result in a portfolio of experiences recognized by and involving the client employers. • An active and engaged client advisory board. Examples of board and/or individual-member functions include providing advice on the program curriculum, assisting with internships and placement, assisting with project-identification, and/ or interacting individually with students. • A commitment to attempt to track the career trajectory of every graduate in order to help assess program outcomes and success. • Agreement to use the name “Professional Science Master’s” and the PSM logo on Websites and advertising brochures. In turn the program will be listed on CGS national PSM websites and data bases, and will be included in CGS PSM promotional activities.

38 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS developed. A successful curriculum requires more than adding “practi- cal professional skills” onto a science base. An effective curriculum is a balance of knowledge, skill sets, and values. Success in this endeavor requires that the culture and values of the profession be conveyed within the curriculum. In the KGI curriculum, for example, the student must be committed to the value of translating scientific discovery to a commercial product. These values run counter to some academic values. To properly instill such a value system requires a business-savvy faculty, curricular integration and a strong external industry involvement. Moreover, for the PSM degree to be successful it must be a truly inte- grated educational experience. To continue with the KGI example, the MBS program started with a set of basic graduate science courses supplemented with MBA-level management courses. The success of this curriculum was not in the mix of courses but in the subsequent evolution of an integrated approach. KGI has three general types of courses: graduate science, MBA business, and “bridging” courses in such areas as pharmaceutical devel- opment, clinical trial design, and biostatistics. The integration means that topics like project management are taught in one of the science courses, the MBA business courses exclusively use case studies from the bioscience industry, and the “bridging courses” serve as the curricular glue allowing students to see science and business together in practice. To provide another example of curriculum development, the PSM programs at the Georgia Institute of Technology have evolved into “niche science” programs: those that meet a very specific scientific industrial need by combining specific scientific skills in an interdisciplinary area. Students with a background in one scientific area are able to blend this expertise with knowledge and experience in another field. Examples at Georgia Tech include: 1. Human-Computer Interaction: A program designed to prepare graduates to work with software and hardware developers and web- based companies. This program draws undergraduates who majored in psychology, computing, and computational media. 2. Bioinformatics: This program prepares students for work in bio- technology companies and pharmaceutical companies. It draws students from biology, biochemistry, mathematics, and computing. 3. Computational Finance: Graduates move on to work with banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. It draws students from mathematics, system engineering, business, and management. 4. Prosthetics/Orthotics: This program prepares graduates to work in clinical prosthetics and with prosthetics/orthotics developers. Students are typically drawn from majors in applied physiology, biomedical engi- neering, or electrical engineering.)

MASTER’S EDUCATION 39 These Georgia Tech programs provide interdisciplinary training that meets demonstrated industrial need and is attractive to students. They are not “science plus” programs in the sense of including separate courses to focus on professional skills, but provide skill development through the scientific training itself. Individual PSM programs are developed with particular employers and careers in mind and with the advice of employers as partners. KGI draws advice from an advisory committee composed of industry leaders, primarily from the biosciences industry. PSM programs, meanwhile, typi- cally have external advisory boards composed of local or regional employ- ers. Curricula are developed based on analysis of demand for graduates, derived from information collected from potential employers. Employers also assist by mentoring PSM students, providing tuition remission for employees, providing student internships, and hiring graduates. Thus, each program is developed according to the needs of local employers. A 2005 survey of the 89 PSM programs then existing, showed them distributed among fields as follows: • Biosciences/biotechnology: 20 programs • Mathematics (financial, industrial, applied, statistics): 18 programs • Bioinformatics: 12 programs • Chemistry or physics: 11 programs • Geological or environmental sciences: 10 programs • Health-related fields: 5 programs • Computer science: 4 programs • Forensics: 2 programs • Other fields: 6 programs “Some [programs] are more focused than others,” Tobias and Brigham have found, “requiring a standard science or mathematics core. Others allow for multiple areas of concentration within a single PSM, such that no two students will follow the same program.”20 KGI had an enrollment of 70 students in 2005. Other programs had enrollments that ranged from 2 to 77. Appendix G provides a side-by-side comparison of program features for the Keck MBS program, the Sloan PSM initiative, and the PSM provi- sions of Section 7034 of the America COMPETES Act. The commonalities between KGI and PSM have been noted above: there are several core defining features they have in common. It is important to note, however, the difference in institutional models: KGI represented the creation of a 20  Ibid.

40 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS new institution of higher education, while the PSM model focuses on establishing program tracks at existing institutions. Consequently, the two efforts have different financial approaches: KGI was founded with a large endowment that will continue to support the institution, while the PSM programs were individually provided funding to cover initial start-up costs that would eventually lead to self-sustaining programs. Assessing Employer Needs It is always difficult to project workforce demand in an accurate quan- titative fashion.21 It is even more difficult to project such demand when the “product” is still in development and many potential customers may not even be aware of its existence. While we cannot predict the overall level of demand for PSM programs, though, we can provide some conclu- sions about the tenor and direction of it. At a very general level, data appear to indicate an increase in demand for master’s-educated scientists and engineers. For example, data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), as shown in Figure 2-4, reveal that median salaries of master’s degree recipients one to five years after the degree was conferred tend to be higher than those of doctorates. More importantly, as shown in Figure 2-5, salaries of master’s degree holders in science and engineering have grown faster over the past 10 years than salaries of baccalaureate or doctorate holders. At a more specific level, testimony to the committee revealed: • Graduates of the mathematics-focused PSMs (financial mathemat- ics, industrial mathematics, etc.) are attractive to banks, insurance com- panies, and financial and data-analysis operations of large businesses and industrial firms where they can contribute in actuarial and analyst positions. They bring higher-level mathematics, informatics, and/or ana- lytical skills than MBAs do. PSM alumni are now working, for example, analyzing investment opportunities for companies such as Putnam or venture firms focused on the biotechnology sector. • The number of business intelligence or analytics staff who apply mathematical modeling, data analysis, and computer simulation to solve business problems is growing in many large business and industrial com- panies. This work is seen as a valuable source of corporate competitive- ness. Growth in business intelligence staffs, indicating that groups who perform these activities are excellent contributors, is likely to continue for 21  Projections of scientists and engineers have gone awry on previous occasions. See N ­ ational Research Council, Forecasting Demand and Supply of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000).

MASTER’S EDUCATION 41 Figure 2-4  Median salaries of degree recipients 1 to 5 years after degree, by field and level of highest degree, 2003. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, 2-4 National Survey of College Graduates, preliminary estimates (2003). Note: Non- S&E fields include the SESTAT categories of “non-S&E” and “S& E-related.” Figure 2-5  Inflation-adjusted change in median salary 1 to 5 years after degree, by field of highest degree, 1993-2003. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, National Survey of College Graduates, preliminary estimates (2003). Note: Non- 2-5 S&E fields include the SESTAT categories of “non-S&E” and “S& E-related.” some time and to percolate to more companies. Graduates of the math- ematical PSMs are well qualified both for starting positions and career advancement in these workgroups. (See Box 2-6.) • The biotechnology industry has grown and matured. While some Ph.D.s have founded and managed companies and others fill executive positions, most Ph.D.s in the biotechnology industry work in research and research management. The industry also has a growing need for people

42 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS Box 2-6 Business Intelligence Business intelligence is the application of systems thinking, data mining, pattern recognition, mathematical modeling, statistics, computing, and simula- tion to solve challenging business problems. This young discipline, also called business analytics or systems analytics, began in the mid-1990s when powerful desktop computers, computer-network communications services, massive data storage options, and advanced data mining and data visualization software tools all became available. Many large companies have created business intelligence work groups. Dow Chemical Company, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Proctor & Gamble are leading manufacturers with successful pioneering business intelligence efforts. This approach has proven effective in many aspects of these corporations: stra- tegic planning, systems engineering, marketing, sales and order fulfillment, risk analysis, purchasing, warranty management, technology and capabilities analysis, supply chain management, etc. These areas greatly expand traditional mathemati- cal efforts in computer-aided engineering. The banking and insurance industries successfully apply business intelligence to investment portfolio and credit risk analysis. Wal-Mart is a leading user among retailers of business intelligence. The health services delivery sector has begun to apply this approach to its vast and complex data. Business intelligence projects typically involve the integration of data from internal and external sources. Data types include numeric, text, geographic, and image data. Biotechnology analytics has genomic data at its center. Data vol- umes are often so large that manual analysis is impossible. “Artificial intelligence” methods enable researchers to cluster data and explore for patterns. Specialists in business intelligence create mathematical models and simulations to represent problems, study business alternatives and scenarios, and generate forecasts. Successful projects provide management with insights and better decision-making tools, based on current data. These increase management awareness of busi- ness performance and dynamics and clarify competitive pressures and growth opportunities. The new efforts in business intelligence are a significant contribution to Ameri- can competitiveness in the global economy. Masters-educated graduates with appropriate preparation are ready to contribute to this growing field and are likely to become its staffing backbone. The approximately 20 mathematics-centered professional science master’s degree programs available today in such fields as industrial mathematics, financial mathematics, bioinformatics, and mathematical entrepreneurship are outstanding training grounds for a career in business intel- ligence, as the employment opportunities afforded to their graduates testify. who can fill positions in program management, sales, and other corporate areas. • IBM, a corporation that transformed itself from a firm that focused on hardware to one increasingly dedicated to providing services, has initiated the creation of a new field—namely, SSME. Much like PSM

MASTER’S EDUCATION 43 Box 2-7 Service Science, Management, and Engineering The world economy is experiencing the largest labor force migration in history. Driven by an environment that includes global communications, business growth, and technology innovation, services now account for more than 50 percent of the labor force in Brazil, Russia, Japan, and Germany, as well as 75 percent of the labor force in the United States and the United Kingdom. This unparalleled segment growth is changing the way companies organize themselves, creating a ripple effect in industries and universities that are closely tied to these organizations. For instance, historically, most scientific research has been geared to supporting and assisting manufacturing, which was once a domi- nant force in the world economy. Now that economies are shifting, industrial and academic research facilities need to apply more scientific rigor to the practices of services, such as finding better ways to use mathematical optimization to increase productivity and efficiency on demand. This shift to focusing on services has created a skills gap, especially in the area of high-value services, which requires people who are knowledgeable about business and information technology as well as the human factors that go into a successful services operation. Many leading universities have begun exploring and investing in this area, working in tandem with thought leaders in the business world. In May 2004, this group suggested that an entirely new academic discipline may be called for—first roughly described as “services science” at a summit held at IBM. Subsequent meetings have caused the discipline to evolve into the more ap- propriate service science, management, and engineering (SSME) title now used. Service design, development, marketing, and delivery all require method- ologies and techniques to make service businesses more efficient and scalable. Both depth and breadth are needed in technology, business, and organizational studies, even at the undergraduate level. SSME hopes to provide that depth and breadth by bringing together ongoing work in computer science, operations re- search, industrial engineering, business strategy, management sciences, social and cognitive sciences, and legal sciences to develop the skills required in a services-led economy. The goal of the SSME discipline is to make productivity, quality, sustainability, and learning and innovation rates more predictable across the service sector. SOURCE: Adapted from “Service Science, Management and Engineering,” IBM Incorporated http://www.research.ibm.com/ssme/ and http://www-304.ibm.com/jct09002c/university/schol- ars/skills/ssme/index.html (accessed October 20, 2007). programs, programs in this field emphasize the education of “T-shaped” employees who have depth in science and also breadth in terms of busi- ness and customer skills. (See Box 2-7.) • The U.S. Department of Defense has documented its need to hire an increasing number of science- and technology-savvy U.S. citizens with

44 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS management skills for positions in technology, acquisitions, and logis- tics.22 We believe that U.S. intelligence and homeland security agencies have a similar increasing demand for employees with these characteris- tics. These agencies are poised to become potentially large consumers of graduates from PSM programs. • Other federal or state agencies could also become substantial con- sumers. The Patent and Trademark Office of the Department of Com- merce is already hiring PSM graduates into examiner positions. Others, such as the Department of Energy or the Food and Drug Administration, could hire into similar positions as well. In general, experience with many existing PSM programs, the KGI MBS program, and IBM’s SSME programs shows that graduates are well prepared to contribute in technically challenging positions in business and government. In the for-profit sector, PSM graduates may contribute in specific ways, such as program management, in large companies. For relatively smaller companies, they may be particularly valuable since there is often a need for one individual to assume several different respon- sibilities. This kind of flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit is characteristic of the students attracted to the PSM type degree. Through the fall of 2005, there were 1,300 graduates of PSM programs from six cohorts. While a small number—in light of the more than 18,000 master’s degrees awarded in the natural sciences (biological sciences, physical sciences, and mathematics) in the 2003-2004 academic year—the number has been growing each year. The biological sciences and applied mathematics fields are leading the way. Indeed, KGI is increasing its enrollments.23 The Institute’s graduates typically receive multiple offers. As shown in Table 2-6, about half have accepted offers by the time of graduation and nearly all who seek employment have lined up a posi- tion within six months of receiving their degrees. There are fewer PSM programs in the geological sciences and computer sciences, but most master’s programs in these fields are already focused on preparing gradu- ates for the workplace. There has been less growth in PSM programs in chemistry­ and physics, though that may change if government agencies 22  Dr. Ronald M. Sega, Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Testimony to U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, March 9, 2005. Dr. William Berry, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Presentation on “Professional Science Masters Program: DOD Needs,” to PSM Biennial Conference, Washington, D.C., October 6, 2005. Dr. William S. Rees, Jr., Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Presentation on “DOD STEM Education: Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART), A Defense Scholarship/Fellowship Program,” to National Science Board, September 28, 2006. 23  Beryl Lieff Benderly, “Mastering the Job Market,” Science, March 7, 2008.

Table 2-6  Employment and Salaries for MBS Graduates, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, 2001-2002 to 2006-2007   FY 01-02 FY 02-03 FY 03-04 FY 04-05 FY 05-06 FY 06-07 Employment 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Accepted offers as of 54% 28% 29% 41% 39% 51% graduation Accepted offers 6         84%   months out Chose travel/further n/a n/a 20% 4.50% 9.70% 11.00% educationa No. of converted n/a 1 5 4 5 8 internships Starting salary rangea n/a $34-95K $37-80K $57-96K $36-90K $55-75K Salary average n/a $55K $59K $72.1K $67.2K $60.6K Total no. of students 28 28 34 22 31 36 aNotes for Class of 2007: As of July 23, 83 percent were employed, 17 percent were actively involved in job searches, and 16 percent were not seeking employment. Of the 6 not seeking employment, 2 students are entering Ph.D. programs and 4 are traveling. Mean salary for the 25 employed graduates is $61,200. Source: Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. 45

46 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS in the military, homeland security, and intelligence that require technical staff see PSM graduates as a resource. Data presented to the committee suggest that demand for these grad- uates is strong. In 2003, starting salaries for new hires with any master’s degree in the biological sciences was $40,000, the physical sciences $49,000, and mathematics and statistics $54,000. PSM graduates in these fields, on the other hand, had starting salaries of $45,000 to $55,000 in nonprofits and government, and $55,000 to $62,000 in private industry.24 As shown in Table 2-6, MBS graduates from KGI have had relatively higher starting salaries, with a range of $55,000 to $75,000 for the class of 2007. In addition to data showing both increased demand for master’s- educated scientists and more specific demand building for a professional science master’s, there has been a growing appreciation among national organizations for PSM programs. In just the last few years, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the National Science Board, the National Governors Association, the Council on Competitive- ness, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a group of 15 prominent business organizations, the Association of American Universities, and the Council of Graduate Schools have all recommended a national effort to develop and expand the number of PSM degree programs in the nation. These reports represent the collective voice of government, industry, and higher education, and in each case the recommendation to establish and increase the number of PSM programs was seen as a key part of a package designed to address U.S. competitiveness and innovation. To cap it all, this past summer Congress authorized the NSF to develop a program of grants to four-year institutions to create or expand PSM pro- grams. This was enacted in Section 7034 of the America COMPETES Act, which was signed into law by the president. (See Appendix I.) Developing PSM Programs The opportunity for master’s-educated professionals in the sciences to contribute to our national economy is clear. But how flexible are U.S. universities willing to be in responding to changing workforce needs? The CGS has produced a guide25 for establishing professional master’s programs that provides advice on: • Feasibility planning: Garnering faculty support, securing the sup- port of university administrators, addressing cultural challenges, deter- 24  Lynch, ibid. 25  CGS, Professional Master’s Education.

MASTER’S EDUCATION 47 mining local/regional workforce needs, and establishing an external advi- sory board • Developing a program: Curriculum, business/financial plan, and program approvals • Start-up and operations: Appointing a program director/coordi- nator, staffing, advertising, recruiting, handling applications/admissions, advising, and providing student services • Assessing the program: Performance, student satisfaction and out- comes, and employer satisfaction • Sustainability: Program flexibility, financial viability, and institu- tional support. The CGS guide, along with the results of successful PSM models across fields, provides enough practical guidance for any institution to launch a professional master’s program. Initially, as Tobias and Brigham have reported, it took programs “a minimum of two years to plan a PSM, gain appropriate administrative approval, recruit, and actually enroll stu- dents.” Now, however, they note that this “time has been reduced, partly because there are PSM models to learn from, and an outreach network from which to draw strength and advice.”26 The track record for PSM programs begun with Sloan seed money has been very good so far. One way to assess their progress is to dis- cuss “those few instances where PSM programs have been discontin- ued.” Tobias and Brigham write: “Some number of PSM tracks never made it to launch though their sister tracks on the same campus did. In almost every such instance, the faculty member who was most enthusi- astic left or was promoted to a position where he/she could not manage the program.”27 They found that the factors compelling discontinuation of program tracks—fewer than ten nationwide—were typically external to the program as most had reasonable success at recruiting and placing students: (i) the university decided to downplay or discontinue all its master’s programs, (ii) a PSM program was hijacked by another depart- ment wishing to capture (or recapture) master’s students in the field, or (iii) senior administrators change and the new cohort decides to reverse or simply to underfund programs started by the previous administration. 28 “Remarkably,” Tobias and Brigham conclude, “almost no programs were canceled after outside (Sloan) funding ran out.” This sustainability is a key point: these programs fill an important need and become self- s ­ ustaining in the long run. For many of these programs, the long run was 26  Tobias and Brigham, ibid. 27  Ibid. 28  Ibid.

48 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS at least five years: the initial grant period was for three years, but with no- cost grant extensions almost all programs at research universities spent their initial funding over a period of five years.29 Four areas require additional attention before any PSM program can be called institutionalized: faculty involvement, communication with employers, student financial support, and program delivery. First, there remains the need to provide incentives to faculty to develop and market master’s-level programs. Many faculty members in the natural sciences continue to view master’s degrees as incidental and unimportant elements of graduate programs focused primarily on prepar- ing doctoral students. Others more enthusiastically embrace professional master’s programs. Somewhere in between these two extremes are the views of most faculty who are busy—focused on research, distracted by many university demands, or indifferent to master’s education. They may not have the time or capacity to mentor master’s students. Incentives are needed to attract these faculty to develop master’s programs. Financial incentives are one possibility. Another incentive is the opportunity to interact with industry, learn their needs, and find new and interesting avenues of research and consulting. There is also an important role for scientific societies to play in promoting professional science master’s programs, sharing information about programs, and encouraging and rewarding faculty in these endeavors. (See Box 2-8.) Beyond the issue of incentives is the importance of matching faculty to courses. Core courses may be taught by existing faculty. Some of the most innovative and effective and often interdisciplinary curricular ele- ments probably are not within the expertise of the faculty or of a faculty member teaching alone. The KGI solution to this problem has been to hire faculty with both industrial and academic experience. This option will not be open to most institutions and will present a real challenge. These institutions may bring in outside experts to teach the “plus courses” or the “plus components” of core courses in the curriculum. They may also engage in providing additional training to faculty across PSM programs at an institution. One important component of building sustainable PSM programs and an appropriate and dedicated faculty is the appointment of a coordina- tor or director of the program. Unlike undergraduate programs that are mostly run (in terms of recruiting and marketing) by admissions offices, and Ph.D. programs that are mostly advisor-driven, PSM programs need a dedicated individual. Successful institutions have arranged this in dif- ferent ways—sometimes as a staff person and sometimes as a faculty/ staff position—but this position is typically critical to success. 29  Ibid.

MASTER’S EDUCATION 49 Box 2-8 Scientific Societies and the Master’s Degree There are several varieties of scientific societies: multidisciplinary (American Association for the Advancement of Science; Sigma Xi—The Scientific Research Society), disciplinary (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), and targeted to a particular underrepresented group (Association for Women in Science; American Indian Science and Engineering Society). Whatever the type, these societies are voluntary organizations that reinforce professional identity, provide forums for face-to-face interaction, and represent a special kind of “club” for those who elect to join. Many scientific disciplinary communities and their principal professional as- sociations are wrestling now with their role in advancing education. Given the dominance of doctoral education in the sciences it is not surprising that these associations tend to reward behavior that validates contributions and status as- sociated with that degree—primarily advancing knowledge through research and publication. For some, however, there is now at least some philosophical discus- sion of the place of education broadly construed in their mission. And for others, societies have moved further ahead, making this an important transition period, both generally and potentially for master’s education. Professional societies play a vital role in the lives of scientists. They bridge the world of education to the world of work by providing members—both individuals and organizations—with access and support. These societies serve as advocates, watchdogs, certification agents, clearinghouses, and recruitment and placement services. They monitor the match between skills and opportunities, supply and demand, the marketable and the actual market. If scientific societies are integral to learning “what matters” to excel pro- fessionally, then their role in master’s education will only grow through the 21st century. To accomplish this they may develop an overall strategy for addressing education, including master’s education and the PSM, in their fields. To specifically further the PSM, they could create society-wide committees on master’s ­education, dedicate conference sessions and presentations to master’s education and PSM programs, recognize faculty who have led successful PSM programs, and serve as a field-specific clearinghouse of information on PSMs. More broadly, the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) manages a clearinghouse on the latest data and information about mas- ter’s education in science, mathematics, and engineering. It includes a database (http://sciencemasters.org/) of more than 2,000 programs from over 300 institu- tions as well as articles, tables, and data pertaining to science master’s education and the master’s workforce. Second, programs and institutions need to work continuously to develop and enhance communication with employers. At present, some external advisory boards “are very active and involved,” report Tobias and Brigham. Others, however, meet only once a year or are “nominal,” which means “advisers signed on but aren’t doing any work.” Commu-

50 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS nication between higher education and industry works best, and the pro- gram developed will best suit industry’s needs when there is a working and interactive relationship between a master’s program and industry. 30 Industry advisors and representatives can help develop and interact with master’s programs in many ways: • They can participate in industry advisory councils that help over- see a program and provide a network for both input from and outreach to potential employers. • They can provide advice on curriculum development. • They can provide mentors, adjunct faculty, internships, financial support to programs and students, and employment for graduates. • They can fund students’ projects—KGI’s MBS curriculum includes a business-sponsored team project for which businesses provide the proj- ect definition and $50,000 per project in support. But even with all of this interaction, programs must market them- selves aggressively. Each program should have a Web site that provides such information as program goals, career opportunities for graduates, the curriculum, and members of the industry advisor council. Representa- tives of the program should also regularly speak about it at various local and regional gatherings of industry representatives. Beyond this, however, there is an even broader need for marketing. The master’s degree is evolving into an important professional degree in a growing array of STEM-based professions in a high-tech globally competitive world. That fact is not well understood by employers who aim to hire people just as they always have, but the benefits of employer involvement in PSM programs are substantial. Employers who serve on advisory boards, for example, have access to a pool of well-trained, highly qualified master’s-level professionals for future hires. Moreover, they often get to have an “extended interview” with them prior to making an offer through internships and employer-sponsored projects and they have the opportunity to help shape their education and training through curriculum development. A study by the California Council on Science and Technology for the California State University system provided four recommendations, each of which targeted the need to improve communication between industry and institutes of higher education.31 30  Ibid. 31  CaliforniaCouncil on Science and Technology, Industry Perspective of the Professional Sci- ence Master’s Degree in California: Prepared for the California State University System, January 2005, http://www.ccst.us/publications/2005/2005PSM.php (accessed October 31, 2007).

MASTER’S EDUCATION 51 1. The PSM program must establish credibility in order to be accepted on a widespread basis: “Despite recent publicity in a variety of articles… many [in industry] had never heard of the PSM, and those who had did not have a clear perception of what the degree entailed.” 2. In order to succeed, the PSM must be targeted to industries where it is best suited: employers most likely to support the PSM were large companies with multidisciplinary interests, companies with an interdis- ciplinary focus, and government agencies. Additional “missionary work” is needed to establish the credibility of professional master’s degrees in the biotechnology industry. 3. Industry and universities need to develop better working relation- ships: many connections are on a personal basis. Beyond collaboration through advisory boards, programs/institutions should invite people from industry to regularly serve as guest speakers, and program heads should attend and speak at industry association meetings. 4. Statewide partnerships should be explored. The development of statewide networks or a high-level advisory board for the chancellor’s office of the California State University system was seen as a way to facilitate placement of interns and graduates and to continue to publicize the PSM degree. By addressing these recommendations, information and perception gaps can be bridged, further contributing to program expansion. Third, there is a need to address the question of what is—and how to provide—adequate student financial support. Originally, the Sloan F ­ oundation anticipated that, being professional, PSM students would fund their master’s educations with the expectation that their future earning would make their investments in themselves and their careers worth- while in the long run. Tobias and Brigham report that “student support is probably the factor limiting expansion [of programs], especially as PhD programs in mathematics and the physical sciences become more aggressive in their recruitment efforts.”32 KGI, by contrast, assumed some student support was critical. Initially KGI provided students with 100 per- cent support during their first year of study. They planned for first-year support for students to decline to an average of 50 percent over the next several years which KGI successfully accomplished, but some student support remains. As noted earlier, students attracted to PSM programs typically differ from other graduate students. They include more women and, in general, tend to be older. For the most part, they are students who would not have gone back to graduate school in a program other than a PSM, which 32  Tobias and Brigham, ibid.

52 SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS provides opportunities for a change in career or advancement within a current career. Additional student financial support will provide incen- tives to individuals—particularly underrepresented minorities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds—to pursue PSM degrees. As a result, programs will be able to expand enrollment and produce more science- trained professionals who will contribute to our economy. Fourth, additional thought should be given to the delivery of PSM programs and courses. KGI has just now established a program for stu- dents who are working full time. The program takes three years instead of two because the students participate in the program on a part-time basis. Moreover, to address the needs of students who are already busy professionals, KGI is formulating plans to deliver the courses online or, if c ­ ampus based, in the evenings or weekends. PSM programs could poten- tially make greater use of online course delivery. Institutions like the Uni- versity of Maryland University College have pioneered the development of a successful model of distance education that is now technology driven and delivers course content to students globally.33 This model could possi- bly be adapted for certain courses or programs for PSM degrees as well. 33  Susan Aldridge, President, University of Maryland University College, presentation to the study committee, July 16, 2007.

Next: 3 Mastering the Future »
Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $40.00 Buy Ebook | $31.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

What are employer needs for staff trained in the natural sciences at the master's degree level? How do master's level professionals in the natural sciences contribute in the workplace? How do master's programs meet or support educational and career goals?

Science Professionals: Master's Education for a Competitive World examines the answers to these and other questions regarding the role of master's education in the natural sciences. The book also focuses on student characteristics and what can be learned from efforts underway to enhance the master's in the natural sciences, particularly as a professional degree.

This book is a critical tool for Congress, the federal agencies charged with carrying out the America COMPETES Act, and educational and science policy makers at the state level. Additionally, anyone with a stake in the development of professional science education (four year institutions of higher education, students, faculty, and employers) will find this book useful.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!