Academic Council debates proliferation of master's programs

Faculty discussed the proliferation of proposals for new master's degree programs at the Academic Council meeting Thursday.
Faculty discussed the proliferation of proposals for new master's degree programs at the Academic Council meeting Thursday.

Faculty expressed concerns about the recent proliferation of proposals for new master's degree programs at the Academic Council meeting Thursday.

Council Chair Joshua Socolar, professor of physics, opened the floor to discussion after members approved three new degree programs—Master's in Medical Physics at Duke Kunshan University, Master's in Bioethics and Science Policy and Master's in Historical and Cultural Visualization. The council also heard proposals for two new master's programs during the meeting. The discussion touched off a debate about the value of adding master's degree programs at the University.

“I would like Duke University to be global, to push the frontiers of knowledge and to be the top university in the world,” said Paul Baker, professor of earth and ocean sciences. “Master’s programs detract in many ways from our ability to become the best university in the world.”

Baker explained that additional programs create another burden for faculty when they are already teaching undergraduates, Ph.D. students and master’s students simultaneously. He said the addition of new master’s programs threatens to hurt student-faculty ratios as well as acceptance rates across departments of the University.

Warren Grill, Addy Family Professor of biomedical engineering, noted that departments at the Pratt School of Engineering gain more spots for faculty when they enroll more students in master's programs.

“At [the Pratt School of Engineering], we have a policy that is a huge incentive—almost a mandate—for departments to grow master’s enrollment,” Grill said.

In his experience, Grill added, master's students have a noticeably negative impact on classroom dynamics.

"The impact on class has been dramatic," he said. “It’s no longer deep, intellectual discussion—it’s much more superficial."

John French, professor of history, suggested that a number of master's degree programs were created as a revenue source for the University following the recession. He added that Duke may have reached a "tipping point" and may need to consider scaling back on creating new programs.

In response, Provost Peter Lange said financial motives are difficult to identify in most cases, but that there are very few master’s programs currently being proposed that are projected to bring in significant revenue to their respective departments.

“These master’s programs are relatively dispersed throughout the various schools,” Lange said. “And a number of them are driven by the intellectual interests of faculty members with very little influence from the administration.”

Lange noted that less than 20 percent of master’s degree programs have a financial return that would justify the amount of work they require from faculty and administrators. Lange said he would be working with Socolar as well as Paula McClain, dean of the Graduate School, to address complaints about additional master's degree programs.

Lange noted that the average selectivity in non-professional master’s programs is 38 percent, with a substantial number of programs in the mid-20 percent range or less. The numbers are very similar to Ph.D. programs, Lange said, indicating that master's programs are drawing high-caliber students as well.

Faculty from several departments mentioned the positive aspects of having more master’s programs during the discussion.

“We are able to offer more graduate-level courses because we have more students wanting to take classes,” said Nan Jokerst, J. A. Jones professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Jokerst said her department has adapted its curriculum to the evolving student population by including features such as research opportunities for master’s students that are slightly less intensive than those for Ph.D. students.

Lori Bennear, assistant professor of environmental economics and policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment, said she is not concerned about the number of master’s degrees because there is a legitimate purpose to offering them.

“We have a very large professional master’s degree program that is appropriately a master’s program," Bennear said. “There are types of jobs which require something more than an undergraduate degree but something less than and different from a Ph.D."

John French, professor of history and African and African American studies and associate professor of Latin American history, noted that more master’s degrees are in the proposal process since proposals are not due until Dec. 6. In response, some members complained about the emphasis placed on deadlines for approving degree proposals.

“This council shouldn’t be driven by deadlines for proposed master’s degrees,” said Kerry Haynie, associate professor of political science and African and African American studies.

The new proposals heard at Thursday's meeting were a Master's in Statistical Science and a Master's in Economics and Computation.

The degree in statistical science was proposed by department chair Merlise Clyde, who said the degree would both leverage the reputation of the department, as well as feed the growing demand for statisticians and data scientists.

“You’ll get a sense of the variety of master’s degree proposals when you hear the proposal for this [Master’s in Economics & Computation],” Socolar said.

The proposal—presented by Carlo Tomasi, chair of the computer science department—responds to a need for economists to understand computation and for computer scientists to design electronic markets and computer systems controlled by economic incentives, Tomasi said.

“We only want three to five students initially, and no new faculty hires will be necessary,” he said. “If the program grows, its revenue will fund additional staff.”

At the conclusion of the discussion, Socolar noted that the issue of master’s degree proposals would be an ongoing topic of discussion for the council.

“Several committees are looking into the broader implications of the trend toward increasing the number of master’s programs on campus,” he said.

In other business

David Morgan, chair of the religion department, proposed that the department be renamed the Department of Religious Studies, which he said is more reflective of the field.

Liz DeLong, chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, and Andrew Allen, a professor in the department, proposed a Ph.D. program in biostatistics.

“Our vision is to respond to the national shortage of Ph.D. biostatisticians,” DeLong said, adding that in addition to roles in academia, graduates of the program could find work in government as well as industries such as pharmaceuticals.

Socolar noted that the two proposed master’s degrees, as well as the department name change and proposed Ph.D. program, would be discussed at the council’s Dec. 5 meeting.

The council will also hear from Lange and Mary Brown Bullock, executive vice chancellor of DKU, about the progress they have made toward opening the China campus, Socolar said.

He added that the council would also discuss Duke’s commitment to diversity and the development of online education efforts.

Correction: A previous version of this article inaccurately attributed a quote to Maurice Wallace, associate professor of English and African and African American studies, as well as to Loren Nolte, professor of electrical and computer engineering. The article has been updated with proper quote attributions. The Chronicle regrets the error.

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