Graduate Training
Jean Bahr, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Graduate training in the geosciences ranges from course-intensive, professional
MS or certificate programs to research-based MS and PhD programs. I advise
students in the professional Water Resources Management MS and in a research-based
program in hydrogeology. Common elements of graduate training in both these
programs include promoting deeper understanding of geologic and hydrologic
processes; expanding expertise in related areas such as surface water hydrology,
soil science, ecology, microbiology, and water resources policy and planning;
providing training and experience in field, laboratory, and modeling techniques;
developing abilities to read and critique primary literature in the field;
and improving both oral and written communication skills that are essential
for disseminating results of research and applied projects. Students in
research-based programs also gain experience in formulating and testing
conceptual models of hydrogeologic processes.
While US and Canadian undergraduate enrollments in the geosciences have
generally increased over the last decade, graduate enrollments appear to
have remained relatively stable. In research-based programs, graduate enrollments
are probably controlled primarily by the availability of faculty and of
student support in the form of teaching assistantships, research assistantships
and fellowships. One important issue for the future of graduate education
is maintaining the necessary faculty and student support in times of flat
or shrinking university budgets and increased competition for research
funding. A second important issue is finding better ways to develop and
sustain interdisciplinary graduate training programs that can prepare geoscientists
to meet the increasingly interdisciplinary challenges of research and practice
in the coming decades.
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