Evaluation of NSF's Program of Grants for Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE) (2009) / Chapter Skim
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2 Background of the VIGRE Program
2 Background of the VIGRE Program
Pages 21-34
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; • A study, Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Training in the Mathematical and Physical Sci ences, by a panel convened in June 1995 by the Mathematics and Physical Sciences Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF, 1996) ; and • The report of an international panel convened by NSF, Report of the Senior Assessment Panel for the International Assessment of the U.S.
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the modes of support and the targets of funding were imbalanced, with too much emphasis on investigators and not enough on graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and with graduate support focused heavily on research assistantships with little allocated to fellowships and traineeships that would help professional development in other ways. 1 The David Report, which presented a "state of the field" in the early 1980s, cogently made the case for a higher level of funding for the mathematical sciences.
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SOURCE: National Science Foundation, "Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development," accessed via WebCASPAR, Figure 2-1.eps http://webcaspar.nsf.gov. bitmap image
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In terms of support mechanisms, federal sources rarely funded full-time graduate students through teaching assistantships -- 99 percent or more of TAs were funded by nonfederal sources such as state 100% 90% 80% 70% Self-Suppor t 60% 50% Non-federal 40% Federal 30% 20% 10% 0% 0 6 0 4 6 8 4 8 2 2 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 FIGURE 2-2 Sources of support to full-time graduate students in mathematics and statistics in the United States, 1980-1998. SOURCE: National Science Foundation-National Institutes of Health, "Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in S&E," accessed via WebCASPAR,-2.eps Figure 2 http://webcaspar.nsf.gov.
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[t] he cur rent funding mechanism (where graduate students are supported primarily by Research Assistantships)
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. These trends led the 1995 NSF workshop to recommend changing the mix of funding: Currently, the bulk of graduate student support provided by the Foundation is in the form of awards to in dividual investigators, who use these funds in part to support graduate students.
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; • Funding for the mathematical sciences being increasingly dependent on NSF (from Table 2-1) ; • Graduate students relying primarily on teaching assistantships and other support mechanisms (from Table 2-3)
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10% 5% 0 FIGURE 2-4 Percentage of academic doctorate holders in mathematics in the United States with federal support, 1981-1999. NOTE: Data from 1985, 1993, 1995, and 1997 are not comparable to the other years and understate the degree of federal support because a survey Figure 2-4.eps question asked whether work performed during the week of April 15 was supported by the government.
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While the numbers of graduate students had been changing over time, so too had the demographic characteristics of students in the mathematical sciences. Much has been written about the rising number of foreign students in mathematics higher education as in the sciences and engineering more generally, as well as about the challenges facing the mathematical sciences in attracting, retaining, and advancing a more diverse group of students and scholars.
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citizens and permanent residents. SOURCE: National Science Foundation-National Institutes of Health, "Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in S&E," accessed via WebCASPAR, http://webcaspar.nsf.gov.
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The percentage of underrepresented minorities is divided by total doctorates, which include some people for whom race/ethnicity is "other/unknown." SOURCE: National Science Foundation, "Survey of Earned Doctorates/Doctorate Records File," accessed via WebCASPAR, http://webcaspar.nsf.gov.
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FIGURE 2-9 Number of postdoctorates in mathematics and statistics at doctorate-granting institutions in the United States, 1980-1998. SOURCE: National Science Foundation-National Institutes of Health, "Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in S&E," accessed via eps Figure 2-9.
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went farther in emphasizing educational issues by entitling a section of its recommendations "Improve the Mathematical Sciences Career Path." Recognizing, as did the David Report (NRC, 1984) , that "the rate at which young people enter the mathematical sciences remains inadequate to renew the field" (NRC, 1990, p.
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But also involved is the heavy dependence by the Mathematical Sciences graduate students and postdoctorates on time consuming teaching assignments for financial support" (NSF, 1997)
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