US graduate programmes are starting to formalize expectations for the skills and competencies that PhD students should have by the end of their studies, finds a report from the US Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) in Washington DC. In a 2016 survey of its 241 member institutions, the CGS found that 65% of those responding reported that all or most of their doctoral programmes had developed formal ways to assess whether students are learning specific skills that are relevant to the workplace. The US academic community has long been considering how to address the fact that holders of science PhDs typically have not learned what they need for non-academic careers (see Nature 543, 277; 2017). Employers outside academia want candidates with transferable skills, including experience in data science and big data; science policy; governance, risk and compliance; and time, project and budget management. The report recommends that universities work with employers to find out what they look for in job candidates. Universities in Australia, Canada and Europe have developed similar graduate-programme assessment metrics.
Nature 553, 119 (2018)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-017-08991-y
Related Articles
Subjects
Latest on:
Jobs
-
Associate Editor, High-energy physics
As an Associate Editor, you will independently handle all phases of the peer review process and help decide what will be published.
Homeworking
American Physical Society
-
Postdoctoral Fellowships: Immuno-Oncology
We currently have multiple postdoctoral fellowship positions available within our multidisciplinary research teams based In Hong Kong.
Hong Kong (HK)
Centre for Oncology and Immunology
-
Chief Editor
Job Title: Chief Editor Organisation: Nature Ecology & Evolution Location: New York, Berlin or Heidelberg - Hybrid working Closing date: June 23rd...
New York City, New York (US)
Springer Nature Ltd
-
Global Talent Recruitment (Scientist Positions)
Global Talent Gathering for Innovation, Changping Laboratory Recruiting Overseas High-Level Talents.
Beijing, China
Changping Laboratory
-
Postdoctoral Associate - Amyloid Strain Differences in Alzheimer's Disease
Houston, Texas (US)
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)