Report of a workshop sponsored by the Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Nat. Science Found., June 5-6, 1995. Sections: math & science education in a changing world; the big crunch; graduate education for industry in a time of change; reshaping the graduate education of scientists & engineers; building a diversified portfolio; graduate education & the disappearance of humanism; the effects of change on graduate education; revising the graduate education for the 21st century; graduate education & postdoctoral training in an austere environment; & graduate education & postdoctoral training for the math & physical sciences.

Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences is a summary of the December 1999 workshop, "Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences: Issues for the 21st Century." This workshop discussed the various features of graduate education in chemical science and technology. Using case histories and their individual experiences, speakers examined the current status of graduate education in the chemical sciences, identified problems and opportunities, and discussed possible strategies for improving the system. The discussion was oriented toward the goal of generating graduates who are well prepared to advance the chemical sciences in academia, government, and industry in the next 5 to 10 years.

The development of students as “stewards of the discipline” should be the purpose of doctoral education. A steward is a scholar in the fullest sense of the term—someone who can imaginatively generate new knowledge, critically conserve valuable and useful ideas, and responsibly transform those understandings through writing, teaching, and application. Stewardship also has an ethical and moral dimension; it is a role that transcends a collection of accomplishments and skills. A steward is someone to whom the vigor, quality, and integrity of the field can be entrusted. The most important period of a steward’s formation occurs during formal doctoral education. Envisioning the Future of Doctoral Education is a collection of essays commissioned for the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate. The question posed to the essayists in this volume was, “If you could start de novo, what would be the best way to structure doctoral education in your field to prepare stewards of the discipline?” The authors of the essays are respected thinkers, researchers, and scholars who are experienced with and thoughtful about doctoral education.