The graduate school crisis

The Chicago Tribune runs a story today on the high dropout rate of graduate students pursuing Ph.D.s:

Nationwide, about half of doctoral students drop out, many after devoting years to their studies and spending tens of thousands of dollars in student loans and fellowships. The attrition rate for doctoral students compares with 42 percent for undergraduates and 10 percent for law and medical students. [Ellen] Stolzenberg, who is writing her dissertation on the role that faculty advisers might play in the high dropout rate, is among a growing body of researchers, administrators and students focusing attention on the issue. For years the problem, though recognized, received little research attention or action. In the sink-or-swim climate of many universities, most of the dropouts were written off as lacking the commitment or capability necessary for the rigors of independent research. Now universities across the country are conducting studies to determine why so many doctoral students quit and are introducing programs to stem the tide, including better orientation sessions, requirements for faculty advisers to stay in closer contact with students and the linking of department funding to student retention. The efforts are being driven largely by tight budgets. Some university administrators fear the dismal retention rates will make doctoral programs more susceptible to cuts, threatening the quality of education and the schools’ prestige. Concerns are being raised over the use of financial aid money and other resources for students who ultimately drop out, and over losing talented doctoral candidates who are playing a larger role in conducting research and teaching undergraduate students. “What research has shown is that the students dropping out are not less academically qualified or experiencing a cut in their funding. Many do not feel a sense of belonging,” said Stolzenberg, 28, adding that she maintains daily contact with her faculty adviser.

There are other academic bloggers who have and will comment on this, but I’m afraid that I’m (mostly) old school on this one. Hand-holding sounds great — except that part of the job of being an academic is being enough of a self-desciplined self-starter that one can focus on research instead of distractions like… er…. blogs. Plus, if the retention rate improves, it’s not like there’s a booming academic job market out there eager to hire — as Bart Simpson recently pointed out. So, if there’s to be reforms to ensure a higher yield of graduate school entrants earning their Ph.D.s, there would also have to be a radical change in the culture of most academic departments. Faculty would have to tell their Ph.D.s that it’s OK to get a job in the private sector. That won’t happen soon — for tenured faculty, a key measure of prestige is how well they place their students. The more students that get jobs at top-tier institutions, the better it looks. However, for those political scientists contemplating what to do if academia is not for you, go read Ian Bremmer’s Slate diary of a political scientist who’s outside of academia. [Full disclosure: Ian was two years ahead of me in the Stanford poli sci program).