Building a Better PhD: A Conversation on Rethinking Graduate Education

Higher Education is at a crossroads. The PhD can provide numerous career opportunities. Yet, many programs across the country prepare students for a single career - an academic position at an R1 institution. We all know there is a shortage of these positions and anecdotally a large number of current PhD students are not even interested in this career path. 

There are many challenges in navigating and running a PhD program: career diversity, student support, time to degree, advising, and program oversight.

How do these issues play out at Case Western Reserve University? Should we rethink our PhD education to prepare our students for the current career landscape?

We will use the book “The New PhD: How to Build a Better Graduate Education” to guide the discussion. There is no need to purchase or read the book ahead of time. We give a brief overview of the relevant topics to kick off the discussion. The discussion will be of most interest to faculty, staff, students, and program directors who are interested in PhD education.

Sessions for Fall 2025 will be the following (you can attend any and all):

• Friday, Sept. 12 - Crawford A09
• Friday, Oct. 10 - Tink Senior Classroom
• Friday, Nov. 7 - Nord 400
• Friday, Dec. 12 - Tink Senior Classroom

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