PECASE: An Examination of Graduate Education's Role in Preparing Egnineering Students for Careers in Academia and Industry

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This CAREER award proposes to study engineering graduate students and uses a mixed methods approach to understand how to prepare these students effectively for careers within academia and industry. Using a three-phase mixed methods approach, the goals of this research are to (1) identify, within academia and industry, the norms, skills, and attributes that engineering graduate students must embrace within a changing academy and society; (2) design, pilot, and validate an assessment tool that represents both the academic and industrial perspectives of these norms, skills, and attributes; and (3) evaluate the relationship between students' professional development experiences within graduate study and their acquisition of norms, skills, and attributes needed for careers within industry and academia. The integration of research and education will occur via the development of course modules and print materials reflecting research findings, the implementation of these modules in graduate engineering seminars and courses, and the involvement of undergraduate and graduate students in data collection, data analysis, and module development over the 5 year project. This research engages a variety of stakeholders, including underrepresented populations, in an empirical study of doctoral engineering education. It also provides a foundation for future national studies of graduate education involving a variety of institutions and diverse populations across multiple educational levels. Potential benefits to society as a result of this research may include a purposefully trained engineering workforce; future faculty who are knowledgeable of opportunities within academic and nonacademic jobs; STEM policies that are funded based upon the empirical findings of this research; and increased public understanding of the roles of engineers via dissemination of results in lay press publications. This project is co-funded by the Directorate for Engineering and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources.