the newest master’s professional studies in the sciences and mathematics
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The Problems The Problems
Too few U.S. undergraduates electing majors in mathematics and the sciences
No business/industry-oriented graduate training shorter and less rigorous than the research oriented PhD, focused on discovery of new knowledge, not the application of existing knowledge.
Too few science-(or math-) trained professionals in state and local government, media, finance, the non-profit sectors
The PSM Degree, a Two-Year The PSM Degree, a Two-Year Post-graduate Degree withPost-graduate Degree with
More Science than an MBA
More informatics & computation than a typical science degree
More skills training in professional fields (business, law, communication) than in any doctoral program
Closer interaction with employers through internships, business/industry affiliates
Today’s EmployersToday’s EmployersExpect a Workforce that is:Expect a Workforce that is:
Able to work in interdisciplinary teams on complex problems involving rapidly changing science and technology
Highly proficient in computational techniques
Able to communicate effectively their scientific mission to variety of audiences
Have an understanding of the business and legal issues associated with their projects.
Immediate Benefit to State Immediate Benefit to State Economies: Master’s Grads Stay Economies: Master’s Grads Stay
NearbyNearby
Master’s Grads tend to work near where they got their degree
PhD grads go on a national (even international) job market
Conditions forConditions forPSM AccreditationPSM Accreditation
High Quality Content – Graduate level science/math courses, “plus” courses in business, law, project management, entrepreneurship, regulatory affairs,finance
Local industry/business input into planning
Reasonable prospects for Regents Approval
Three VariantsThree Variants
New applications of classical subjects, e.g. financial mathematics, physics of modeling, biotechnology
Interdisciplinary (or fused) subjects, e.g. environmental decision making, human/computer interaction
Integration of Informatics with science subjects, e.g. bioinformatics, computational chemistry, geographical information systems, computational linguistics
97 Training Areas in 45 Institutions in 97 Training Areas in 45 Institutions in 20 states20 states
Mathematics – Financial, Industrial, Applied, Statistics for Entrepreneurship, Statistics for Environmental Decision Making, Computational Sciences
Physics – with Business Applications, Physics of Modeling, Industrial Physics, for Entrepreneurship
Computational Biology
Computational Chemistry
Forensics
Biological Sciences – Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Applied BioSciences
Bioanalytical Chemistry, Biomolecular Chemistry
Geographical Information Systems
Degree RequirementsDegree Requirements
Disciplinary courses
Cross-disciplinary courses
Thesis or Project
Business course(s)
Internship
The Cohort ExperienceThe Cohort Experience
Unlike M.S./Ph.D. programs which are often a solo experience…PSM’s cultivate working teams, the “cohort experience”
Orientation assignments
Social gatherings
Pre- and post-internships,
Shared projects,
Joint seminars, colloquia, speakers’ series, across tracks
The Role of ResearchThe Role of Researchin PSM Programsin PSM Programs
PSM is not without research exposure, but it is not designed to prepare students for a research career.
Rather, students get a project/team experience in solving a problem they might encounter in the workplace.
What Employers Say about What Employers Say about PSM Grads as regards PSM Grads as regards Research-related SkillsResearch-related Skills
Able to design/execute experiments with minimal supervision
Able to write research reports
Able to present technical information to varied audiences
Able to interface between research and marketing, research and business development, research and legal/regulatory, policy/legislative
AdvantagesAdvantagesto Industryto Industry
Graduates tend to focus on emerging or interdisciplinary fields, where the action is
Able to apply science/math/engineering to techniques non-technical fields
Opportunity to add management skills to technical proficiency
Graduates have greater business sense
Lower salary entry (vs. Ph.D.) for top versatile talent
What’s in it for the UniversitiesWhat’s in it for the Universities
Contacts with business/industry
Highly motivated students
Additional full-time equivalent (FTE) students to add to department roster
Satisfies regents’ and trustees’ demand that universities contribute more directly to economic and workforce development
What’s in it for the StatesWhat’s in it for the States
Another source of Intellectual Capital
High tech Workforce Development
Increase Tech transfer capabilities
Provide Personnel for Incubators
Compete for high tech businesses
Employers of PSM GraduatesEmployers of PSM GraduatesApplied Physics & Health Applied Physics & Health
PhysicsPhysicsRaytheon
Spectrum Astro
Lockheed Martin
Boeing
Illinois Dept Nuclear Safety
Entergy
Argonne National Lab
Geisinger Health System
Mayo Clinic
Thom. Jefferson Accelerator
Employers of PSM GraduatesEmployers of PSM GraduatesApplied BiosciencesApplied Biosciences
Eli LillyDept. Homeland SecurityPfizer3-D PharmaceuticalsInst. For Human Genome TherapyHealth Sciences Inc.Alltech Inc.Fl. Dept of Law EnforcementTexas Dept of Public SafetyGlaxo Smith-KlineAllergan\NovartisJohnson & JohnsonInformax
Employers of PSM GraduatesEmployers of PSM GraduatesEnvironment-Related Orgs.Environment-Related Orgs.
STS Consultants (WI)
Alameda County Water District
Cold Regions Research and Eng. Lab
Minerals Management Service
Vestra Inc.
Inst. Of Pollution Control
MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA
Conservation Biology Inst.
Patrick Engineering
EPA
Employers of PSM Graduates Employers of PSM Graduates Financial, Industrial Math, Financial, Industrial Math,
StatisticsStatisticsFirst Federal BankDigital Credit CoPutnam InvestmentsSoutheastern Mich. Council of Gov’tWatson-WyattRoche DiagnosticsGuidantChevronLockheed MartinAm. Auto. Assoc.G.E. CapitalUS Dept’ of Agriculture
Companies Supporting PSM Companies Supporting PSM StudentsStudents
Baxter HealthcareMerckNational Center for Food SafetyTEVA Pharm. IndustriesFermi National LabLoyola Univ. Medical CenterRegional Radiation ConsultantsU.S. ArmyU.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionAbbott LAboratories
Companies Supporting PSM Companies Supporting PSM Students (2)Students (2)
Sun ChemicalsCoral ChemicalConoco PhillipsCabot CorporationCargillFisher ScientificSherwin-WilliamsAgriumAkzo NobelAllon Science/TechnologyFisher Scientific
Challenges for PSM-2005Challenges for PSM-2005
Scale Up -- How to engage 200 universities? More than a few thousand graduates?
How to attract more minority students and minority institutions?
Who will pay for program development? Who will pay for students to attend?
How to partner with State Economic Development Agencies?
How to integrate training for innovation and entrepreneurship?
Action Items for StatesAction Items for States
Be sure that applied math and applied science (along with research capability) are part of the conversation about economic development, workforce enhancement, innovation, and tech-transfer in your stateBe sure there are no legislative barriers to launching innovative new master’s programs – no caps, no prejudiceGet to know the programs in your state; make sure others know about them, too.Consider a system-wide adoption of the PSM model