{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02346041055718475, 'fraction_numerical': 0.004887585532746823, 'mean_word_length': 5.733552631578948, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Addressing Career Needs of Future Ph.D's

APSA co-sponsored the "National Convocation in Science and Engineering Doctoral Education" hosted by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine on June 15, 1996. APSA joined with the national associations for the natural and physical sciences, mathematics, other social sciences, and higher education to support this event entitled "From Discussion to Action: Meeting the Needs of Future Generations of Graduate Scientists and Engineers." This convocation was designed to follow up on a 1995 report from the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPUP) entitled, "Reshaping the Graduate Education of Scientists and Engineers" and published by the National Academy Press. The report is a response to decreasing grant support for scientific research and the decline of jobs in academic research institutions. The convocation featured an array of roundtables, panels and poster sessions. Charles Johnson, chair of the political science department at Texas A&M, presented a poster on his department's initiative for preparing graduate students to teach undergraduates. His work was also cited in a roundtable on "New Strategies Being Undertaken in the Science and Doctoral Education System." Presenters encouraged faculty to inform graduate students about alternatives to careers in research and urged faculty to prepare students for professional responsibilities other than research. Faculty and graduate students both urged students to become informed about a wide range of jobs, non-academic as well as academic, teaching and administrative as well as research related. Students expressed concerns about the future of the profession and argued that they lack adequate reference materials and preparation to explore alternative careers. Alternative careers that were discussed include pre-college teaching, public/governmental agencies, professional associations, interest group/advocacy associations, scientific writing/journalism.