The Formation Of Scholars: Rethinking Doctoral Education For The Twenty-First Century

This groundbreaking book explores the current state of doctoral education in the United States and offers a plan for increasing the effectiveness of doctoral education. Programs must grapple with questions of purpose. The authors examine practices and elements of doctoral programs and show how they can be made more powerful by relying on principles of progressive development, integration, and collaboration. They challenge the traditional apprenticeship model and offer an alternative in which students learn while apprenticing with several faculty members. The authors persuasively argue that creating intellectual community is essential for high-quality graduate education in every department. Knowledge-centered, multigenerational communities foster the development of new ideas and encourage intellectual risk taking.

The Authors

George E. Walker is vice president for research and dean of the University Graduate School at Florida International University. He served as senior scholar and director of the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Chris M. Golde is associate vice provost for graduate education at Stanford University. She served as senior scholar and research director for the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Laura Jones is director of heritage services and university archaeologist at Stanford University. She served as senior scholar and director of the Community Program at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Andrea Conklin Bueschel is senior program officer with the Spencer Foundation.

Pat Hutchings is vice president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, working closely with a wide range of programs and research initiatives.