Report of the Graduate and
Postdoctoral Studies Subcommittee
for the Natural Sciences Strategic Plan

Mission:

To educate graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to become independent, versatile, creative, and critically thinking scientists by providing outstanding training, mentoring, and professional development.

Introduction

The United States is the world's leader in the development of new high technology due to its long-standing support of graduate Ph.D. programs in the natural sciences and engineering. Long-term economic growth of the United Sates requires the enhancement and maintenance of the best current programs and the development of new ones to meet the demands for scientists and engineers in rapidly developing technologies.

The next 5-10 years may be trying for the U.S. research universities. Overall federal support for basic scientific research may remain static or decline in the next few years as the U. S. government narrows its budget deficit. Intensified competition has forced many companies to reduce their investment in basic research, which affects both funding to the university and employment opportunities for our graduates. Large-scale retrenchment of basic research funding will only be temporary, however. The United States and the world benefit too greatly from technological progress to neglect scientific training at the graduate level. As a private university with a large endowment, Rice is less sensitive to changing politics and public opinion than most other research institutions. Consequently, Rice has an opportunity to enhance its position as a center for graduate education in the sciences provided it pursues farsighted policies. Expansion in areas of greatest long-term potential must be wisely balanced with maintenance of adequate strength in the fundamental areas of the natural sciences that may experience temporary declines in popularity and funding.

Irrespective of trends in funding, Rice will never be ranked among the top elite universities unless its graduate programs, particularly those in the natural sciences, are improved in breadth of training, job preparation and placement services, and national visibility. Our long-range goal is to place graduate studies in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences among the top ten innovative programs in the nation by building on the Rice tradition of excellence in science education, interdisciplinary research programs, and direct contact between students and faculty. We are in a unique position where the faculty can be real mentors to their graduate students and provide both personalized training and career guidance. We believe that Rice can become a national leader in graduate education by implementing the strategies described below.

Assessment of Current Status and Needs

Within the time frame of the subcommittee's charter it was unrealistic to attempt to conduct a meaningful assessment of the current status of graduate studies in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences. Such an assessment is needed, however, for the effective implementation of some of the recommendations below and for future planning and decisions. Graduate programs ought to be assessed systematically by existing administrative staff including Department Chairs and the Dean. Any serious evaluations of individual programs or the school as a whole would require all admission statistics (i.e., grade point averages, Graduate Record Exam scores, prior degrees received and schools attended, etc.), performance data (graduate grade point averages, length of time until degree, publications, etc.), and employment outcomes.

One component of a systematic assessment is to poll current graduate students about their experiences at Rice. Toward this end, the subcommittee obtained a set of 63 responses from current graduate students to a questionnaire (Appendix 1). The responses provide lists of grievances and positive suggestions. These responses, the recommendations from the graduate and postdoctoral studies workshop, and the experiences of the subcommittee were used in formulating the final recommendations.

The subcommittee consisted of ten representatives from the Wiess School of Natural Sciences: eight faculty members, one graduate student, and one recent Rice Ph.D., who is now a postdoctoral research associate here.

Goals and Recommendations

• Improve the quality of our graduate training programs by:
  • Promoting independence and initiative for enhanced competitiveness
    • Provide early training in research and "design"
    • Provide training in communication skills and writing
    • We recommend a course be offered in the division or in the departments that provides instruction in proposal writing and research design.

  • Providing exposure to the broader scientific community to increase the "relevance and quality of research work," breadth of education, and employability
    • Departments should explore industrial partnerships and internships.
    • The Dean's Office should increase funds for student participation in national and international conferences.
    • The Dean's Office should establish visiting scholarships for students to come to Rice and for our students to visit elsewhere.
    • Departments should provide meaningful teaching opportunities and training for graduate students interested in teaching or academic careers (including college, continuing studies, and summer school courses).

  • Enforcing timely completion of degree requirements
    • Encourage rapid completion of course work (1-2 years)
    • Require early advancement to Ph.D. candidacy, including both oral and written defense of thesis prospectus as a part of the qualifying examination
    • Establish rigorous annual reviews of progress
    • Require annual re-enrollment after 5 years in residence

  • Creating more interdisciplinary programs to provide greater breadth of training
    • Establish interdepartmental graduate courses and seminars
    • Develop joint graduate programs that promote interdepartmental research training

  • Publishing a comprehensive triennial review of graduate programs in the Natural Sciences that includes the following:
    • Monitor career success of our graduates
    • Poll current and former graduate students to determine their views of the training programs.
    • Seek other mechanisms to determine the quality of the graduate training effort

  • Expanding awards for faculty mentors of graduate students with prestige equal to that of the Brown awards for undergraduate teaching

• Enhance support for graduate studies by:
  • Seeking out industry-sponsored and privately endowed graduate student fellowships in coordination with the development office, the school of Natural Sciences, and other departments
    • Aggressively establish connections with industry for this purpose
    • Encourage Departments to track graduate alumni as potential donors of fellowships

  • Requiring departments to apply for private and government sponsored training grants as a condition for retaining tuition waivers and first-year stipend support

  • Fixing a proportion of royalties and licensing fees obtained from intellectual property for deposit in a fund for graduate student stipend support. A majority of these funds should be under the control of the department from which the intellectual property originated.

  • Eliminating pooled graduate tuition remission (33% fringe benefit recovery) from research grants, which are already assessed 50% indirect costs. More funds would instantly be provided to successful principal investigators for graduate student support.

  • Encouraging graduate students to apply for private and government sponsored fellowships and traineeships

  • Providing University-funded assistantships to graduate students interested in classroom teaching experiences

• Enhance recruitment of graduate students by:
  • Increasing the visibility of Rice graduate programs by:
    • Establish a recruitment-oriented Web site
    • Support recruitment visits to other institutions by Rice faculty
    • Support national conferences on campus for undergraduates
    • Provide more opportunities for summer research experience (e.g., NSF positions)
    • Target a strong recruitment effort at other conferences that undergraduates attend

  • Offering recruitment visits for all well-qualified prospective students
    • Organize the visits effectively, making sure all faculty and graduate students are informed about the current course programs and research opportunities
    • Optimize the positive effects of the visit by highlighting the diversity of faculty and students when it exists and Rice's commitment to quality graduate education, not just faculty research

  • Providing monetary incentives for choosing Rice
    • Abolish the application fee, at least for Natural Sciences
    • Continue tuition waivers for outstanding students
    • Ensure competitive stipends (greater than or equal to $15,000 per year)
    • Provide supplemental funds for students who receive national awards or non-University sponsored fellowships (~$1,000 more per year)

  • Reviewing periodically the recruiting practices to see what is/is not effective

• Enhance the placement of our graduate and postdoctoral students by:
  • Increasing the visibility and relevance of our educational programs
    • Establish outside advisory panels at the departmental level that include representatives from academia, industry, and government
    • Create better ties with alumni, especially former graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
    • Create new vehicles to enhance extramural communication, including a speaker bureau for use by industry and government, a departmental and/or divisional newsletter (for industry as well as alumni), and a public relations campaign in local and national news media

  • Providing opportunities for additional training in ancillary areas
    • Establish workshops for developing writing, speaking, and computing skills.
    • Provide "vocational" training in grant writing, laboratory management, job interviewing, and business skills

  • Improving career advising for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
    • Increase student use of existing support services (e.g., Career Services)
    • Actively develop relationships with potential employers (internships, mentoring, job fairs, etc.)
    • Request that departments maintain active lists of available academic and industrial positions for use by all students
    • Encourage active faculty involvement in the placement of students and postdoctoral research fellows/associates

• Enhance the environment for graduate and postdoctoral studies by:
  • Constructing graduate student housing on campus which includes a center for social activities. This facility should provide an apartment living option for a small number of married students and have rooms available throughout the year for visiting scholars and students.

  • Requiring departments to provide formal mechanisms for graduate student and postdoctoral input into policies related to their studies and research work. For example, graduate students should be members on curriculum and student policy committees, be allowed to attend most faculty meetings, except those dealing with hiring, promotion, and student evaluations, and be encouraged to help with recruiting efforts.

  • Establishing formal mechanisms for graduate student and postdoctoral fellow input into University-wide decisions on fringe benefits, health insurance, health services, and other student life issues. Again, students should be active voting members of the committees that deal with these problems.

• Definition of the role of the University Graduate Office:
  • Control of recruiting, admittance, and administration of graduate students should be kept at the departmental level where the knowledge of the field and students is the greatest.

  • Distribution of Rice fellowships and tuition waivers should continue to be managed by the Dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences.

  • The Graduate Office should evaluate periodically all University graduate programs in terms of training in new fields, employment opportunities, recruitment success, current student progress, and the status of previous Ph. D. graduates.

  • The Graduate Office should facilitate departmental efforts in recruiting the best students (e.g. removing the requirement for an application fee).

  • The Graduate Office should be the advocate of graduate studies with the administration and Board of Governors.

  • The Graduate Office should participate actively with the Development Office in raising new funds for fellowships.

  • The Graduate Office should maintain, along with the individual schools, comprehensive data bases for both current and past graduate students.

ADDENDUM 1 - Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Subcommittee

SYNOPSIS OF THE RESPONSES TO, AND A LIST OF THE QUESTIONS CONTAINED IN, THE GRADUATE STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Some results and conclusions from the questionnaires:

Suggestions that students had to improve the general experience of graduate students at Rice included the following: New or improved housing for graduate students including improved housing for married graduate students, better medical and dental benefits, which ought to be included in the tuition/stipend award, keeping the health center and gym open during undergraduate breaks, better eating opportunities on campus, higher stipends, and more interaction between departments.

A couple of themes that emerged from the responses to the questionnaire were, first, a feeling that graduate students are not held in the same high regard by Rice as undergraduates are and, second, a feeling that Rice did not recognize that the graduate students were here year-round and that many important services were not being provided when the undergraduates were gone from campus.

Most students had had no contact with the Graduate Office or didn't know what it was. Some (but by no means all) of those that were acquainted with the Graduate Office felt that the staff was not very helpful and unfriendly.

Most students felt that people were treated equally regardless of gender or race. Some responses indicated a pro-woman bias and others an anti-woman bias. Some responses indicated that students were not treated equally regardless of race. Those that indicated nonequal treatment usually made it clear that the nonequal treatment was in some research groups but not necessarily others.

Role models. Some respondents would like to see more females and minorities represented among the faculty. Some respondents indicated that professors were too steeped in academics to serve as role models for students interested in other career paths.

Employment opportunities. Overwhelmingly most students felt that they were not exposed to a full range of employment opportunities in their field. The respondents were divided over whether they were adequately prepared for careers. [The Graduate Studies Subcommittee notes that this might best be ascertained by polling alumni rather than current graduate students.]

GRADUATE STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE FROM THE GRADUATE STUDIES SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE NATURAL SCIENCES STEERING COMMITTEE

[2] How many years have you been a graduate student at Rice?

[3] Why did you choose to come to Rice for graduate study? Did you know someone who attended Rice previously?

[4] Are you glad you came to Rice for graduate study? If so, why? If not, why not? Was Rice your first choice for graduate school?

[5] Would you recommend to potential graduate students that they come to Rice? If so, why? If not, why not?

[6] What are the most significant ways in which your training and mentoring could be improved?

[7] In what other ways could your experience at Rice be improved?

[8] In what ways, if any, has the Graduate Office been helpful to you as a graduate student at Rice? In what ways would you like to see it become more helpful to you?

[9] Do you think that graduate students are treated equally regardless of gender and race?

[10] Have you found an adequate number of role models among the faculty of the Natural Sciences?

[11] What facilities and services at Rice have proved the most useful to you?

[12] What facilities does Rice lack?

[13] Does your department have any summer (or other) internship program? If so, what are its strengths and weaknesses? If not, would you like to see such a program implemented?

[14] Does your department do a good job of introducing you to the full range of employment opportunities in your field?

[15] Do you feel that your training at Rice will help you obtain a position in industry, academics, government, or education?

[16] If you are interested in teaching, do you feel that you have had enough opportunity at Rice to gain practical teaching experience?

[17] Is there a vehicle in your department for graduate students to express their collective concerns to the faculty?

[18] Do the faculty in your department consider graduate student opinion and advice when making departmental decisions?

[19] Do you feel that your experience is representative of other graduate students in your research group? In your department? If not, why not?

Strategic Plan

This page is maintained by Rachel Miller (mail to: rmiller@rice.edu)
Created 21-Mar-97
Updated 07-May-97