The PhD - A disconnect between form and function? Brenda Brouwer, Vice-Provost and Dean, School of Graduate Studies Or just a little misunderstanding?

Knowledge-based economy Need to advance knowledge, address challenging issues and complex problems Critical, creative & innovative thinking, leadership, problem solving, data analytics, information synthesis, … The context

The problem Students’ perspective: High level education makes one unfit for work outside the academy Supervisors’ perspective: Public’s perspective: too many PhDs and limited faculty positions; need HQP

The challenge Relevance & accountability Introspection: Understanding how we contribute to the problem – perpetuate the myth Re-examine expectations, objectives and learning outcomes

Program structure 4 years Courses, comprehensives/candidacy exams, thesis Original and independent research Publishable in high quality academic journals Present at scientific, scholarly conferences Values/criteria

Actions Actively engage in myth-busting and bridging the gap between stakeholder perceptions and reality Shift our programs from being on the leading edge of tradition to leading edge Overhaul vs enhancements

“We tell students that there are ‘alternatives’ to academic careers. We warn them to develop a plan B …and the very language with which we couch this useful advice makes clear how much we hope they will not have to follow it – and suggest, to many of them, that if they do have to settle for employment outside the academy, they should crawl home and gnaw their arms off” - Anthony Grafton and James Grossman, President and Executive Director of the American Historical Association, 2011