Can a Country Really Have Too Many Science Ph.D.s?
by Douglas Steinberg AT A MEETING right after Labor Day, Princeton University’s molecular biology department surveyed the plans of its recently graduated seniors, and professor Shirley M. Tilghman wasn’t happy with the results. Thirty-one out of 72 students awarded bachelor’s degrees last June were going to medical school, eight planned to do community-service work – and only three were heading directly for Ph.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. programs. Recalling the meeting, Tilghman notes that the cohort of doctoral wanna-bes has never topped 10 percent of graduates. But she describes this year’s yield as the worst ever. “It worries me because the future […]