Plant Science Graduate Students: Demographics, Research Areas, and Recruitment Issues

Abstract

<jats:p>Graduate student enrollment in the plant sciences has decreased over the past several years, and there is increasing interest in recruitment/retention strategies. Before successful strategies can be implemented, however, the status of current plant science graduate programs needs to be determined. Survey data on graduate student demographics, research area, support levels, current recruitment strategies, and career opportunities were collected from 23 plant science graduate programs. Overall, 55% of graduate students in plant sciences were male and 45% were female; about 60% were domestic and 40% were international. Cellular/molecular biology and breeding/genetics were the two disciplines that had the greatest number of graduate students and the greatest number of job opportunities. Most programs cited financial support as the biggest obstacle to recruitment. However, stipend number, the guarantee of multiple years of support, the funding of tuition waivers, and health insurance costs also impact student numbers. As more of these costs are shifted to faculty, there appears to be an increasing inability and/or reluctance to invest grant funds (which support 60% of the plant science graduate students) in graduate student education. These data suggest that the decline in plant science graduate student enrollment may be due to shifting of more of the total cost of graduate training to faculty, who may be unable/unwilling to bear the cost. There is also a clear shift in the research focus of plant science graduate students, as postdoctoral and career opportunities are weighted toward molecular biology/genetics, leaving the more applied plant science areas particularly vulnerable to low graduate enrollment.</jats:p>

A Survey of Horticulture and Plant Science Graduate Programs and Faculty Salaries at North American Universities

“…In surveyed institutions, domestic students predominated over international students, particularly at NMAU, although the range was broad for both (Table 3). Our result for international enrollment at MAU is similar to the 63% international student enrollment reported by Darnell and Cheek (2005) based on their 2003-04 data.…”

“…The data for fellowship stipends at NMAU may not be representative, as they included only two NMAU that reported offering fellowships. Salary ranges and averages reported herein are similar to those reported for MAU horticulture programs by Darnell and Cheek (2005).…”

“…Only teaching or combination assistantships containing teaching responsibilities contributed a signifi cant secondary source of funding (Table 4). Consistent with these results, Darnell and Cheek (2005) reported that in the plant science departments they surveyed, 60% of the funds for assistantships came from grant funding, whereas only 21% was derived from state funds.…”

“…Competitiveness for top students may be a challenge for many horticulture faculty working in areas where grants large enough to support multiple years of funding for graduate students are scarce. Darnell and Cheek (2005) reported that this was one of the main obstacles to recruiting top-quality students to plant science disciplines. In recent years, a dramatic rise in in-state tuition levels and health insurance costs has exacerbated this problem.…”

“…In recent years, a dramatic rise in in-state tuition levels and health insurance costs has exacerbated this problem. Darnell and Cheek (2005) concluded that the transfer of assistantship costs from institutional support to individual faculty-supported funds has resulted in a reallocation of funds toward hiring postdoctoral students and/or technicians and away from graduate assistantships. Maintaining and funding a critical mass of traditionally trained horticulturists, particularly in ornamentals research, education, and extension, is a major challenge, according to the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (2005).…”