APS Graduate Education Conference; February 2017 in College Park, MD.

American Physical Society, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports a two-day conference to engage physics department chairs, directors of physics graduate programs, and members of the private sector in an analysis of the current state of graduate education in physics in the US and seeks to instigate improvement on issues of career readiness, diversity, pedagogy, and sustainability of programmatic elements. As the third in a series of NSF-funded physics graduate education conferences, this meeting will further develop the physics community's knowledge of strategies to implement current best practices in physics graduate education in the US. This series of conferences on graduate education in physics have proved to be an effective mechanism for sharing best practices in graduate education and strengthening the network of administrators in higher education, industry leaders, and professional societies interested in improving graduate education. This conference is hosted jointly with the APS Bridge Program meeting, providing an opportunity to bring together graduate students, representatives from the APS Bridge Program, and directors of graduate studies more broadly to discuss efforts that increase diversity and improve professional training for physics students that will be moving into the US STEM workforce. The conference will occur February 2017 in College Park, MD and will bring together approximately 100 leaders in the physics community. To improve diversity and utilize the entire US domestic talent pool, participants will discuss and explore methods for recruiting and retaining students from underrepresented groups. In addition, the need for domestic PhDs by national security institutions and the US economy in general will be addressed as participants learn about new research related to graduate admissions, and how this can help them attract and admit a broader spectrum of US citizens. Participants will also learn how to adjust their curricula to align student preparation with the skills employers from the private sector, national labs, and academia currently seek. To make physics students more attractive to employers, participants will learn how to ascertain what skills such employers are seeking and how to adjust their curricula accordingly. The body of knowledge shared during the conference will be published in a report on the conference, including best practices and recommendations, and will be freely available online.