The NewestThe NewestMaster’sMaster’s

Professional Studiesin The Sciencesand Mathematics

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 technologyHighly proficient in computational techniquesAble to communicate effectively their scientific mission to variety of audiencesHave 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 degreePhD 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, biotechnologyInterdisciplinary (or fused) subjects, e.g. environmental decision making, human/computer interactionIntegration 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 CapitalHigh tech Workforce DevelopmentIncrease Tech transfer capabilitiesProvide Personnel for IncubatorsCompete for high tech businesses

Employers of PSM GraduatesEmployers of PSM GraduatesApplied Physics & Health Applied Physics & Health

PhysicsPhysicsRaytheonSpectrum AstroLockheed MartinBoeingIllinois Dept Nuclear SafetyEntergyArgonne National LabGeisinger Health SystemMayo ClinicThom. 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 DistrictCold Regions Research and Eng. LabMinerals Management ServiceVestra Inc.Inst. Of Pollution ControlMODIS Rapid Response Team, NASAConservation Biology Inst.Patrick EngineeringEPA

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