Penn State Intercom......January 18, 2001

Sloan Foundation grant
supports master's programs

A grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has allowed the Eberly College of Science to create three distinct programs that offer graduate students the opportunity to earn stand-alone master's degrees in certain emerging fields.

Through the Sloan Foundation's Science Master's Outreach Initiative, the college was awarded $420,000 over a three-year period to create and implement programs in applied statistics, bioanalytical chemistry-mass spectrometry and biotechnology.

According to the Sloan Foundation, such programs are designed to provide a different kind of graduate degree. While master's degrees in many scientific fields usually represent a step along the way to a doctoral degree and a job as an educator or researcher, the Sloan Foundation hopes programs such as those at Penn State will help to create stand-alone master's degrees to prepare students for challenging and diverse opportunities in high-tech and scientific fields.

Each of the three degree programs, all of which should be fully implemented before the end of the initial three-year grant period, include interdisciplinary course work and combine expertise from different departments in the college. Each also requires an internship. Officials from Penn State and the Sloan Foundation believe such programs provide a service by preparing scientists with the specific background and experiences necessary to thrive as professionals in their selected fields.

Each of the programs involves partnerships with business and industry and provides hands-on opportunities and interdisciplinary experience. Many representatives from business and industry have already committed to their partnership with the University, discussing internship opportunities and providing input about the programs in order to best prepare science-trained professionals for their respective fields.

Back