Finally Equal Footing for Women in Social Science Careers?
This CIRGE Spotlight focuses on the potential for gender equality in careers of social science doctorate holders using findings from Social Science PhDs–Five+ Years Out, CIRGE’s national study of recent graduates in six fields. We find surprising equality in early careers of men and women: men and women are equally likely to begin careers in a tenure-track position and equally …
Read MoreEquality and Illusion: Gender and Tenure in Art History Careers
Using a national survey of 508 art history PhDs including data on graduate school performance and careers 10-15 years post-PhD, this study investigates gender, family, and academic tenure in art history, the humanities field with the highest proportion of women. Alternative hypotheses derived from three perspectives–termed here clockwork, two-body, and synergy–are evaluated with multivariate logistic regression. Analysis finds that marriage …
Read MoreDoctoral Education in the USA
Presents an overview of the state of doctoral education in the US and discusses the changes that will need to be made in response to external forces. Nerad, M. (2007). Doctoral Education in the USA. In Stuart Powell and Howard Green eds., The Doctoral Worldwide, pp.133-140, Berkshire, England: Open University Press. Download: Doctoral Education in the USA
Read MoreSocial Science PhDs—Five+ Years Out: Survey Methods
This working paper documents the methods used in the study, Social Science PhDs— Five+ Years Out. It describes the survey purpose and administration, sampling methods, and types of data collected. It details items that were collected irregularly. Finally, it provides information helpful for evaluating the generalizability of results. Picciano, J., Rudd, E., Morrison, E., & Nerad, M. (2007). Social Science PhDs—Five+ …
Read MoreAstrobiology IGERT Student Survey Report
The surveys were designed as components of the multi-year evaluation of the University of Washington Astrobiology (AB) IGERT conducted by CIRGE in accordance with the National Science Foundation grant requirements. The results are intended to provide anonymous student feedback to the program faculty and to increase understandings of interdisciplinary graduate programs and student experiences of those programs. Students had mostly …
Read MoreAstrobiology Student Focus Group Report
Two focus groups were held with Astrobiology graduate students in order to gain feedback on components of the AB program, including coursework, research rotations, international collaborations, interdisciplinarity, teamwork, interactions with faculty; and student recommendations for the AB program. In general, students offered positive feedback about the structure of the Astrobiology Program. They especially like the workshops, the seminar series and …
Read MoreSocial Science PhDs—Five+ Years Out: A National Survey of PhDs in Six Fields—Highlights Report
To assess the career path of social science PhDs and the quality of doctoral programs, the Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) at the University of Washington, Seattle surveyed recent PhDs, asking them about the application of their education in their subsequent careers. This report concludes that students in social science PhD programs are well prepared for …
Read MoreUsing an Alignment Model as a Framework in the Assessment of Doctoral Programs
To assist in addressing current issues in doctoral education, this chapter presents a particular framework for successful doctoral programs and discusses implications of that framework for program assessment. This alignment model suggests that successful doctoral programs involve a process of aligning program activities, students and faculty/staff in their specific contexts in order to achieve desired outcomes of helping students complete …
Read MorePaths and Perception: Assessing Doctoral Education Using Career Path Analysis
Uses the results from the PhDs – Ten Years Later survey in two disciplines, English and mathematics, to demonstrate the assessment value of understanding student career paths and student evaluations of doctoral programs in light of their career paths. Aanerud, R., Homer, L., Neard, M., & Cerny, J. (2006). Paths and Perceptions: Assessing Doctoral Education using Career Path Analysis.” In …
Read MoreGlobalization and Its Impact on Research Education
Observations on the impact of globalization on research training and promising practices for the doctorate of the future: 1) Globalization has not only brought a number of common trends to doctoral education worldwide but also has had differing effects on differing regions and on the more and more diverse doctoral student population worldwide. 2) Due to globalization, doctoral education is …
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