Faculty

The past decade has given rise to a number of national initiatives related to reexamining the purposes and practices of undergraduate and graduate education, perhaps more so than in any prior decade of the past century.

Those having an impact on graduate education certainly would include the Carnegie Foundation study of the professoriate, results of which were published in 1990 by the late Ernest Boyer as a treatise on "scholarship reconsidered;" the National Academy of Sciences (COSEPUP) report of the mid-1990s on the shortcomings of our graduate programs in the science and technology fields in preparing their graduates for industrial or other non-academic research careers ; and the PEW Health Commission report of the same period that decried the preparation of physicians and other health professionals for the future health care needs of our nation.

A nice summary of various initiatives resulting from these events and writings is provided by Jody Nyquist in her article "The Ph.D.: A tapestry of change for the 21st century" (Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 34, 6, 12-20). Another such summary of this history and speculation about what lies ahead in regard to graduate education in the sciences is provided on the National Science Foundation website.

Psychology as a discipline, through the American Psychological Association's Education Directorate, has been involved at one level or another in most of these initiatives. Most are focused on faculty and graduate program development issues, the theme of this website.

These are issues to which we invite your attention as topics for discussion among your faculty, as well as your graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, in terms of their implications for and possible inclusion as appropriate in the planning and implementation of your graduate department's programs.

Education Leadership Conference (ELC) A national forum to discuss issues relevant to all levels and areas of psychology education and training. Visit this site to read more about the ELC held annually.

The Preparing Future Faculty program is a comprehensive approach to doctoral education that exposes graduate students to the array of roles and responsibilities awaiting them as the professorate of the 21st Century.

The "Preparing Future Faculty in Psychology Final Narrative Report" (pdf 2.1mb) summaries the activities of four Preparing Future Faculty in Psychology programs.
     (Requires Adobe Acrobat free download)

The Partnerships in Graduate Education webpage lists various initiatives related to service learning, other doctoral preparation programs and partnerships in higher education.

"Developing and Evaluating Standards and Guidelines" (pdf 150kb) a draft policy document that proposes criteria and procedures by which guidelines and standards for education and training in psychology are to be developed and evaluated, prior to approval by the American Psychological Association (APA).
     (Requires Adobe Acrobat free download)

A Conceptual Framework for Self-Study In Graduate Departments of Psychology .pdf [189kb] Requires Adobe Acrobat   free download

How do you create socially responsive knowledge?
Paul D. Nelson, Ph.D., and other scholars describe ways of rethinking scholarship and engagement, and how we might prepare the next generation of psychologists to become engaged scholars.

Bibliography

The Graduate Education Faculty page features a bibliography and topics related to faculty development

APA Division 2 - Society for the Teaching of Psychology promotes excellence in the teaching of psychology.

CCTC - Council of Chairs of Training Councils, a Council that provides a forum for communication among the doctoral, internship, and postdoctoral training associations in psychology.

COGDOP - For more information on the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology.

The APA Board of Educational Affairs announced in 2003 two new departmental block grant awards in support of graduate education:
Support of Conferences and Workshops in Graduate Education

Innovative Practices in Graduate Education in Psychology