Doctoral Education: Preparing for the Future.

Virtually all discussions of graduate education involve the idea of preparing students for some kind of professional activity, that is, for jobs and careers in which they use the knowledge and skills that were the focus of their graduate education. For the most part, however, Ph.D.s are prepared to do certain things, but not for work in any particular sector. Preparation for jobs or careers, in the sense of particular and specific training, occurs rarely. This is quite different for most masters programs, where the needs of the profession shape the majority of programs, and students are specifically prepared for professional practice.