Aligning Higher Education STEM Production with Workforce Demand through Professional Master's Degrees. BHEF Issue Brief

Institution	Business-Higher Education Forum
Titel	Aligning Higher Education STEM Production with Workforce Demand through Professional Master's Degrees. BHEF Issue Brief
Quelle	(2011), (4 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Graduate Study; Innovation; Masters Degrees; Engineering; Public Sector; Corporations; Tuition; STEM Education; Science Careers; Private Sector; Labor Force Development; Labor Needs; Alignment (Education); Interdisciplinary Approach; Recruitment; Student Financial Aid; School Business Relationship; Competition; Higher Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Maschinenbau; Öffentlicher Sektor; Unternehmen; Unterweisung; Unterricht; STEM; Privater Sektor; Arbeitskräftebestand; Labour needs; Arbeitskräftebedarf; Fächerübergreifender Unterricht; Fächerverbindender Unterricht; Interdisziplinarität; Recruiting; Rekrutierung; Finanzielle Beihilfe; Studienfinanzierung; Studienförderung; Wettkampf; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen
Abstract	Graduate education in the natural sciences has traditionally emphasized doctoral training for academic or research careers. This training, however, is not meeting the demand for professionals in business, industry, and the public sector, where individuals with a combination of scientific, technical, and managerial skills will be required. Professional master's degrees (often called Professional Science Master's (PSM) or Professional Engineering Master's degrees) aim to redress this mismatch by providing students with intensive interdisciplinary graduate level coursework in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, combined with training in management. PSMs have been hailed as the "21st Century MBA" and have grown dramatically recently. One of their key features is that business has been deeply involved in their development from the onset, to ensure that graduates have a seamless transition into high-demand STEM jobs. This paper calls to employers that they should support their employees' participation in PSM programs through tuition assistance or reimbursements. Businesses should incorporate programs leading to these new professional degrees in their research collaborations with universities. They should retool their recruiting practices to ensure that they draw from the advanced talent and training that professional graduate-level programs produce. Similarly, research universities have an invaluable role to play in doing more to collaborate with corporations to develop additional professional master's programs. Continued innovation is needed to design and execute programs that align in focus and content with workforce needs. Universities should continue and expand their practice of engaging with corporate partners in the development of professional master's programs. Finally, policy makers need to become better aware of the potential of professional master's degrees in enhancing innovation and competitiveness in both the public and private sectors. Future legislation should include and support such programs. (Contains 10 endnotes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Business-Higher Education Forum. 2025 M Street NW Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-367-1189; Fax: 202-367-2269; e-mail: info@bhef.com; Web site: http://www.bhef.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10