The Chronicle just posted an interesting article on the value of a Ph.D. that I thought I would write about. The author, Thomas Benton, talks about the need and possibilities for reforming graduate education and bases much of his argument on ideas brought up in Menand’s 2010 book "The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University". Benton talks about academe as a world populated by moderate liberals with no easy access granted to either ultra conservatives or radical liberals. This has made for a rather boring environment with few outlier voices challenging the status quo. In order for new life and vitality to be infused into our educational system a reformation of graduate education needs to happen.
I agree that this reform needs to take place, for several reasons. We currently have Ph.D. programs that require up to eight years of dedication with no guarantee of job placement, yet you will soon be able to obtain a medical degree in three years and be assured someone would hire you for a decent sum of money. What if it took less time to get an advanced degree so we had more time to look for or create a job? Also the academic world has become insular, with outdated rules and regulations for tenure and promotion preventing thousands of talented young professionals from going for a doctorate degree. Finally, the congruency of foundational ideals in the professoriate has led to blandness in the classroom and a fear of curricular innovation.
What if higher education were to offer three year doctorate programs and market them to people already striving for change? What if the be all and end all of getting a Ph.D. weren’t teaching but working towards environmental, political, medical, and/or civil rights change in the world? There aren’t enough teaching jobs to go around as it is anyway! Some may argue that this is what many people already do with their doctorates, but I am asking if the world could be bettered if higher ed were to deliberately and consciously open its doors to the brilliant ideas and abilities of women and men who are creating a more equitable world? Why wait to grant them an honorary doctorate in 20 years? Why not give them the opportunity to focus their energies, learn new strategies and ways of thinking, and help them build their own models? Higher education has the power to do this if institutions can envision and implement doctorate programs that take less time and are more grounded in world issues. Benton says the world of higher education needs fresh air and making a doctorate more accessible is definitely one way to do so. Shortening the time needed to complete degrees, creating scholarships for older adults already involved in social justice causes, and offering degree programs that have real-world applicability are some of the ways this change could happen. If we could accomplish this undergraduates would have professors who have a wider range of opinions and ideas, and society would have a greater number of highly educated, research-focused people.
This argument may seem like a valid one but lacking in the possibility of actually being implemented--historically this type of reform takes a long time. We have talked in class about how slow higher education is to change, yet with colleges creating a diversity of online programs, shortening undergraduate timelines, and catering more to working individuals, change is happening, and happening quickly. Now is the time to get our ideas on the table because administrators and trustees are willing to consider them.
http://chronicle.com/article/A-Very-Special-Marketplace/64711/
http://chronicle.com/article/Texas-Tech-Announces-3-Year/64830/
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Higher Education has recently changed rapidly, but is slow compared to other programs. It is hard to determine if education is changing fast or slow because the idea could have been thought of years ago and has taken several years to make the idea reality. Personal I would rather see doctoral students finish a three year degree compared to an undergraduate student. When a student reaches the point of graduate school they already have life and work experience. When student attend graduate school, especially to complete a doctoral degree they tend to know what they want in life. The majority of undergraduate students are between the ages of 18 and 22 just starting life and trying to figure out what their life incorporates. The traditional age college student need the ability to explore different options and a four year undergraduate degree allows for this.
ReplyDeleteI am all for 3 year doctoral degrees. It does get to be a bit absurd when considering some PhD programs. For example, to pick on our PhD in Counseling and Supervision program, I believe it is a 94(ish) credit program. That is of course on top of a 4 year degree and a 2-3 year M.A. Let us add this up just for fun. 4 years for undergrad, 2 for a masters, and let's call it 4 for a phd (including dissertation)- that is 10 years to PhD. This is a fairly burning pace too. So a Psychologist, who in most cases cannot prescribe medicine and is not considered a medical doctor, and probably not compensated on par with a medical doctor must go to school for a minimum of 10 years for their training. A student can do med school straight out of undergrad. This means 8 years, 2 years less than a PhD. Granted the doctor must attend residency for low pay while accrewing interest on hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans from med school. Residency can take up to 10 years depending on the specialty, but at least they are there. They are earning some money, advancing their skills, and already a doctor.
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