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IGERT Urban Ecology at UW

The mission of the IGERT Urban Ecology was “to improve Earth’s condition by engaging policy makers, scientists, students and citizens in the generation, teaching and use of knowledge about the interactions between humans and ecological processes in urbanizing environments.”

In December 2004, CIRGE presented the results of three years formative and summative evaluative work to the Urban Ecology IGERT faculty, students, departmental chairs, and campus administration.

The report, Urban Ecology Mid-term Evaluation and the University of Washington, presented findings and recommendations for a number of significant program changes for the remaining years of this IGERT. As part of the evaluation activities, CIRGE innovative consultant conducted a series of workshops for faculty and students on program and time management, on teamwork and team teaching, and on conflict resolution.

Download Report: Innovation in PhD Training

International Collaboration

CIRGE facilitated the collaboration of the Urban Ecology IGERT with another urban ecology doctoral program in Berlin, Germany. We added another pair of doctoral programs (Boston University Bioinformatics IGERT and Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany Systems Biology Graduiertenkolleg) to the evaluation research project to provide a broader base for the generalization of findings.

CIRGE undertaken two important research activities with these innovative doctoral programs:

  1. CIRGE supported implementing and maintaining collaboration included conducting workshops to prepare the visits abroad of faculty and students; facilitating feedback sessions with students and faculty from both programs at the end of joint international workshops; and facilitating ongoing feedback for faculty regarding the collaborative process to improve communication, information, and organizational planning.
  2. CIRGE conducted formative evaluation focusing on the ongoing activities of the project. We analyzed similarities and differences between the programs, the institutional structures and conditions that support or hinder international cooperation, and we assessed the progress in personal relations and communication processes. During the last year we focused on the (a) process of collaboration, (b) individual expectations, and (c) institutional goals and limitations.

Download Report: Evaluative Framework for International Collaboration

Innovation in PhD Training – IGERT evaluation report

Evaluation of an IGERT at the University of Washington which aims to train its students to become disciplinary experts who are also highly skilled in collaborative team work and interdisciplinary problem solving. The evaluation was performed at the end of the third year of a five-year grant in order to assess which activities were working in pursuit of their goals, identify barriers to achieving project goals, extract larger lessons learned for doctoral education and interdisciplinary programs, and provide ideas and recommendations for next steps.

Heg, D., & Nerad, M. (2004). Innovation in PhD Training: An IGERT at the University of Washington Mid-Term Program Evaluation. Report for the National Science Foundation.

Download:  Innovation in PhD Training 

 

Promovieren in den USA

This paper explains the structure and functioning of US PhD education, views the process from the perspective of a doctoral student, discusses the role of the US graduate school and ends with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of US doctoral education.

Nerad, M. (2004). Promovieren in den USA (Getting a PhD in the USA) written for the handbook, Die Internationale Hochschule, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), Germany.

Download:  German version   English Version 

 

Innovation in PhD Training – IGERT evaluation report

Evaluation of an IGERT at the University of Washington which aims to train its students to become disciplinary experts who are also highly skilled in collaborative team work and interdisciplinary problem solving.  The evaluation was performed at the end of the third year of a five-year grant in order to assess which activities were working in pursuit of their goals, identify barriers to achieving project goals, extract larger lessons learned for doctoral education and interdisciplinary programs, and provide ideas and recommendations for next steps.

Heg, D.  &  Nerad, M. (2004).  Innovation in PhD Training: An IGERT at the University of Washington Mid-Term Program Evaluation. Report for the National Science Foundation.

Download: Innovation in PhD Training 

The PhD in the US: Criticisms, Facts and Remedies

Several initiatives have been developed to address recent criticisms of doctoral education in the U.S. In addition, three major surveys have been undertaken to better understand the process, content, and outcome of doctoral education. This paper explores the criticisms and outlines the initiatives for change. It argues that initiatives for change in doctoral education are important first-step responses to the criticisms; however, they must be accompanied by ongoing research that can provide empirical data on doctoral student experiences, career paths, and on the impacts of the initiatives themselves.

Nerad, M. (2004). The PhD in the US: Criticisms, Facts and Remedies, Higher Education Policy, 17, pp. 183-199.

Download: The PhD in the US

 

 

So you want to become a Professor

Respondents give high marks to their history programs for “academic rigor,” and training in “critical thinking” and “data analysis and synthesis.” They also identified areas to target for improvement, including training in writing and publishing reports and articles and in how to teach, as well as providing concrete feedback to students on their progress, socializing students into the academic community and having a diverse student population. Surveyed historians urged programs to address the fact that the academic labor market cannot absorb all the doctorate holders, to be aware of opportunities for historians outside academia, and to recognize the value to society of historians working in diverse employment sectors. Even knowing what they know now about the history job market, more then 80% of respondents would get a PhD in history again.

Nerad, M., Aanerud, R. &, Cerny, J. (2004). So You Want to Become a Professor! Lessons from the PhDs—Ten Years Later Study. in Donald H. Wulff, Ann Austin, & Associates, Eds.,  Paths to the Professoriate: Strategies for Enriching  the Preparation of Future Faculty.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Download: So you want to become a professor

Career Outcomes of Political Science PhDs

The PhDs – Ten Years Later study, allowed us to provide detailed information about the actual employment patterns of nearly 4, 000 PhDs recipients in biochemistry, computer science, electrical engineering, English, mathematics, and political science.   This report, offers a specific examination of the career paths of those who completed the PhD. in Political Science.

Surveying PhD recipients in political science ten years after degree completion provides rich information about the career paths, job satisfaction, and their retrospective evaluation of the usefulness of the PhD. Understanding the variety of educational outcomes and the high job satisfaction of PhD recipients outside academia, leads us to conclude that a too narrow focus on the academic job market in doctoral education leaves a large proportion of doctoral student unprepared for a variety of intellectually satisfying careers.

Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education – University of Washington, 2003.  Career Outcomes of Political Science PhD Recipients:  Results from the PhDs–Ten Years Later Study.  Report for Political Science Association.

Download:  Career Outcomes of Political Science PhDs

International PhDs: Exploring the Decision to Stay or Return

Findings from the Ph.D.s–10 Years Later study regarding Ph.D. recipients from abroad who earned their degrees at U.S. institutions of higher education centers and whether they stayed in the US or returned home. While, overall, 40 percent of the Ph.D.s from abroad returned home to start their post-Ph.D. careers, there was, in fact, considerable variation by field of study, region of origin, and even subregion. While many factors helped determine the choices on initial job locations made by international Ph.D. holders, one overwhelming trend that ran through the “return” data was a predetermination to return, powered by the pull of existing ties. Those who returned home were somehow “bound” to return, through the strong pull of their ties to cultural values and preferences, to friends and family, to their employers or governments, or to personal values such as the desire to contribute to their nation or society.

Gupta, D., Nerad, M.,  & Cerny, J. (2003). International PhDs: Exploring the Decision to Stay or Return. In CIHE, International Higher Education, Spring, Boston: Boston College.

Download: International PhDs

 

Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Interdisciplinarity

The US National Science Foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) programs aim to encourage new approaches to interdisicplinary education.  IGERTS are developed to meet the challenges of educating doctoral level scientists, engineers and educators with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines and the technical, professional and interpersonal skills to lead their fields and become creative agents for change.  The University of Washington’s Urban Ecology IGERT has provided insights into how to create and sustain a culture of interdisciplinarity.  This report describes this IGERT’s approaches to interdisciplinary team-learning, team-working and team teaching and reports on the problems, challenges and progress.

Marzluff, J., Nerad, M., Bradley, G., Alberti, M., Ryan, C.,  Zumbrunner, C., &  Shulenberger, E.  (2003).  Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Interdisciplinarity: Novel approaches to graduate education in the environmental sciences.  Unpublished report.

 Download: Creating and Sustaining Interdisciplinarity