Postcards share with others the highlights of holidays, memories of places and events, and brief stories of experiences abroad. They hold the quick jottings to a friend back home, made while in a moment of rest and reflection on a train, at the beach, in a café. They are intimate artifacts, yet they are also public. Their text is available for…

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered considerable shifts in enrollment patterns for both U.S. citizens and permanent residents and temporary visa-holding graduate students within science, engineering, and health (SEH) fields during the fall 2020. After 3 years of relative stability, full-time enrollment of temporary visa holders in SEH master's…

Graduate admissions play a critical gatekeeping role in the physics community not only because they select students who are allowed to begin their graduate studies, but also because they influence how students perceive graduate school, and in some cases whether or not they will even choose to apply. In conjunction with the APS Bridge Program, we…

Exiting physics master's recipients from the classes of 2012, 2013, and 2014 combined pursued a variety of different post-degree outcomes. Initial outcomes differed greatly depending on citizenship. The majority of US citizens were in the workforce following the receipt of their master's degrees. In contrast, the majority of non-US citizens…

Recent policy debates surrounding Japan's graduate education raise a serious skepticism in the validity of its "research-based" or "learning-by-doing" training approach that these institutions have uniquely established. Proponents of reform suggest drastic restructuring of the graduate programs by replacing the experience-based…

The purpose of this study was to describe the life experiences of science/engineering students who had been dissatisfied with their lives during graduate school in Taiwan. This study adopted a qualitative method of phenomenology utilizing in-depth interviews for data collection. Thirteen male and five female students with an average age of 24.85…

This article discusses how the Bridge program, a partnership between Fisk University and Vanderbilt University, can become the nation's leading producer of doctoral graduates in astronomy, physics and material sciences. A graduate at Fisk, Ebonee Walker gets free tuition to attend one of the world's leading universities, a book allowance, a…

This document, although substantially based on the results of empirical inquiry, is basically a position statement dealing with doctoral programs in science education as well as other areas of curriculum and instruction. The author contends that doctoral programs in science education should provide for in-depth training of students in one of three…

The author concludes that the Ph.D. degree in chemistry needs broadening and suggests three possible plans that might be followed in achieving this goal. (DT)

Several years ago a senior APS colleague challenged the leaders of academic programs to critically think about a preferred future for ensuring that there is not only the capability, but also the willingness to recognize and reform and/or reframe higher education programs within FANRRS to meet the challenges of "preparing society ready…

Summarizes a report from the joint committee of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine that recommends a new model of Ph.D. education based on changes in science, engineering, the economy, and society in general. Changes include more versatility, better career information and guidance, less…

Addresses the problem of insufficient guidance for graduate students who are choosing their doctoral research area. Describes a required graduate course for all doctoral candidates in chemistry at SUNY Buffalo entitled, "Selection of Thesis Research." (MLH)

DOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION SHOULD HAVE ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS BASED ON ACADEMIC ABILITY, AGE, MATHEMATICS BACKGROUND, AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE. CANDIDATES SHOULD TAKE COURSE WORK EQUIVALENT TO A MASTER'S DEGREE IN ONE AREA OF SCIENCE AND A MINIMUM OF 1 YEAR OF STUDY, INCLUDING LABORATORY, IN THE OTHER MAJOR AREAS. ONE YEAR OF COLLEGE…

A six-year program providing training for ten individuals in science education and seven in mathematics education research is described. Lists of program objectives, requirements and course work for the program, and faculty members involved are included along with information on selection of trainees, enrollment by year, resulting dissertation…