Empirical Research (Contextual Strand 2): Researching and Improving Geography Graduate Education for STEM Careers in Business, Government, and Non-profit Organizations

该项目是建立在以前的NSF资助的研究生教育在地理，以及自20世纪90年代中期以来的主要基金会进行的研究。 这项先前的工作清楚地表明，STEM研究生课程并没有为学生未来的职业生涯做好充分的准备。与其他社会科学和环境科学一样，地理学专业发展研究的重点是学术职业问题。其结果是一个基础广泛的地理学术基础设施，以支持早期职业教师的专业发展。该项目是基于这样的信念，即需要类似的基础设施来支持进入商业，政府和非营利组织（BGN）工作环境的新学者和过渡学者的专业发展。 关键的第一步是澄清学习经验的类型，包括理论和应用，这将使毕业生具备在BGN组织中从事地理工作的能力。为了迈出这第一步，该项目正在进一步开发一种在以前的研究中设计的方法，以评估专业地理工作中的劳动力需求、期望和核心能力。 它正在进行研究，重点是BGN专业人员和雇主组织，以确定课程，实习和其他形式的教育经验，毕业生在研究生地理课程获得的价值。 该项目的范围包括评估不同工作场所文化的期望，并制定BGN专业人员如何体验其工作环境的措施，从而更好地了解地理毕业生为进入BGN职位所需的知识和技能。

This project is building on prior NSF-funded research on graduate education in geography, as well as research performed since the mid-1990s by major foundations. This prior work clearly indicates that STEM graduate programs are not fully preparing students for potential careers beyond academe. As in other social and environmental sciences, research on professional development in geography has focused on academic career issues. The outcome is a broad-based academic infrastructure in geography for supporting the professional development of early career faculty. This project is premised on the belief that similar infrastructure is needed to support the professional development of new and transitional scholars entering Business, Government, and Nonprofit (BGN) work settings. A key first step is to clarify the types of learning experiences, both theoretical and applied, which will equip graduates with the competencies for geographic work in BGN organizations. To take this first step, this project is developing further a methodology designed in prior research to assess workforce needs, expectations, and core competencies in professional geography work. It is conducting research focused on BGN professionals and employer organizations in order to determine the value of coursework, internships, and other forms of educational experiences that graduates acquire in graduate geography programs. The project scope includes assessing the expectations of different workplace cultures, and developing measures of how BGN professionals experience their working environments, resulting in a better understanding of the knowledge and skills geography graduates need to prepare themselves for entry into BGN positions.