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Today’s guest blog post was provided by Laura Carlson, Vice President and Associate Provost,\u00a0Dean of the Graduate School, and\u00a0Professor of Psychology.<\/p>\n
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This past August, the Grad School was awarded an $80,000 grant from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). This funding allows us to participate in the PhD Career Pathways Project, a high-profile investigation seeking to better understand how and where doctoral graduates apply their educations professionally.<\/p>\n
Twenty-eight other institutions will collaborate with us in this research study, co-funded by NSF and by the Mellon Foundation, so we\u2019ll be able to dig up quite a cache of information. With this vast data store, we gain a huge opportunity to enrich our Graduate School and serve our students:<\/p>\n
\u2663 We\u2019ll strengthen our relationships with our amazing doctoral alumni.
\n\u2663 We\u2019ll acquire a better understanding of the significance of doctoral education in the real world.
\n\u2663 We\u2019ll learn how to better prepare our students for a wide variety of diverse career options, including all the traditional ones, too.<\/p>\n
We are now ready for the first step of the project: sending surveys on career pathways to the PhD alumni. We\u2019re asking them questions about where they\u2019ve landed since graduating from Notre Dame, and how they\u2019re applying their expertise and education in their daily lives.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t wait to see those completed surveys.<\/p>\n
I already know that our graduate students\u2019 research matters<\/em><\/a>. I am reminded of this when I hear of the government tapping Sarah Lum<\/a> to address the national sexual assault kit backlog, or when I read Emily Maiden\u2019s blog<\/a> as she helps combat childhood marriage in Malawi.<\/p>\n But what I don\u2019t always know\u2014and the potential that excites me the most\u2014is how our graduates are changing the world, in ways big and small, since leaving Notre Dame. Each and every student cultivated his or her impact while at Notre Dame. But what does that impact look like today?<\/em><\/p>\n Once we have answers to these questions, we\u2019ll ask more questions. It\u2019s a three year project, after all.<\/p>\n \u2663 What can our current students learn from our high-achieving alumni? As we interpret our findings, we\u2019ll collaborate with our graduate programs in STEM and Humanities, as well as our twenty-eight partner colleges in the study. Sharing our data with them\u2014and seeing theirs\u2014will be a huge asset.<\/p>\n
\n\u2663 What features of our professional preparation approaches best served our graduates?
\n\u2663 What are some career platforms from which PhDs can change the world that we may not have thought of before?
\n\u2663 And how can we invigorate our professional development and career preparation to prepare students to shine in these roles?<\/p>\n