The Council of Graduate Schools and the Educational Testing Service said on Thursday that they are creating a commission to study and recommend ways to help graduate students move more easily through their studies and into careers.
The Commission on Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers, which includes college officials and business leaders, will examine how much graduate students know about their career options once they obtain their degrees. It will also look into how students learn about their professional opportunities after graduation and the role of graduate programs in guiding students in their transition to a career. The commission plans to disclose its findings in a report next spring.
Patrick Osmer, vice provost for graduate studies and dean of the Graduate School at Ohio State University who is the commission's chair, says that it is important to create a dialogue with graduate students and with employers, and to listen to the students' concerns and expectations about career paths beyond academe.
"Because of the way the economy is evolving, we have to develop some new approaches to meet the national needs," Mr. Osmer said. "If we just stick to our traditional views, we are missing many opportunities."
The creation of the commission follows a report, "The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States," released in 2010. It said that the United States must make it a national priority to improve graduate education and attract more students to pursue—and complete—graduate degrees, to keep the country from losing its competitive edge in a global economy. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that students not only start degree programs but finish them, it said.
The report noted that doctoral-degree recipients have increasingly been exploring career options outside of higher education since the availability of tenure-track positions has declined. By 2018, the report estimated, about 2.5-million more jobs will require a graduate degree.
