What Happens in Grad School Shouldn ’ t Stay in Grad School : Thoughts on Necessary Cultural Change
Rosemary G . Feal
Abstract of Presentation
We are in an era of hyper-specialization even though the academic job market cannot accommodate these specialized Ph . D . recipients in sustainable academic positions . In general , graduate students receive little training ( or encouragement ) to explore opportunities other than the scholarly reproductive choices made for them by their graduate advisors .
The hyper-specialized Ph . D . program provides students with some essential skills that would serve them in jobs beyond the academy , but rarely are those skills formally identified and cultivated . Several shifts need to happen if we are to move away from the current model . The first is recognition on the part of graduate schools and graduate programs that we have a responsibility to our students to inform them about current employment prospects and conditions and prepare them for their post-Ph . D . years . xv