The New PhD: How To Build A Better Graduate Education

409 Pages·2021·3.529 MB·English

by  Leonard Cassuto, Robert Weisbuch

THE NEW PhD
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The New
PhD
How to Build a Better Gradu ate Education
Leonard Cassuto and Robert Weisbuch
Johns hopkins University press
Baltimore
© 2021 Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2021
Printed in the United States of Ameri ca on acid- free paper
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Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryl and 21218-4363
www . press . jhu. edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Cassuto, Leonard, 1960– author. | Weisbuch, Robert, 1946– author.
Title: The new PhD : how to build a better gradua te education / Leonard Cassuto
and Robert Weisbuch.
Description: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020011604 | ISBN 9781421439761 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781421439778 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Doctor of philosophy degree.
Classification: LCC LB2386 .C376 2021 | DDC 378.2/42—d c23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020011604
A cata log rec ord for this book is available from the British Library.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more informa-
tion, please contact Special Sales at specialsales@press . jhu . edu.
Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials,
including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30  percent post-c onsumer
waste, whenever pos si ble.
To our partners,
Debra Osofsky and Candy Cooper
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CONTENTS
Why We Need a New PhD and How We Can
introdUction
Create One 1
Then and Now: Two Recent Eras of Reform 32
chapter 1
Purpose, Then Path: A Practical Guide to Starting
chapter 2
the Conversation 91
Career Diversity: A Liberal Arts Approach
chapter 3
to the PhD 113
Admissions and Attrition 144
chapter 4
Student Support and Time to Degree 177
chapter 5
Curing the Curriculum and Examining
chapter 6
the Exam 199
Advising 222
chapter 7
Students as Teachers 237
chapter 8
Degrees: What Should They Look Like?
chapter 9
What Should They Do? 266
Public Scholarship: What It Is, Where It Came
chapter 10
From, and What It Requires 291
From Words to Actions 319
conclUsion
Gradu ate School a fter COVID-19 347
postscript
Acknowl edgments 349
Notes 353
Index 389
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Introduction
Why We Need a New PhD and How We Can Create One
Imagine an entering cohort of eight doctoral students sitting around a
table in a department seminar room or laboratory conference room.
They’ve just arrived at gradu ate school, and they’re eager to see what
their new adventure w ill hold for them. All of them know that the aca-
demic job market is depressed, but most (perhaps all) are hoping for
a college or university teaching job of some kind.
Now let’s flash forward in time. According to current statistics, four
of the eight—50  percent!—w ill not complete the degree.1 Of the re-
maining four who do finish, two w ill not get academic positions and
will seek jobs elsewhere. The remaining pair will get full- time teach-
ing jobs, most likely at teaching-i ntensive institutions. Perhaps they’ll
get tenure-t rack assistant professorships, though the supply of those
positions has been shrinking. And maybe one of t hose two will get a
position at a research university like the one where t hose eight stu-
dents assembled years e arlier.*
* We are of course dealing with aggregate (and pre-COVID) statistics here.
Certain disciplines, such as economics and computer science, produce dif fer ent
outcomes, but the contours of this thought experiment apply broadly across
disciplines.
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