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Academic Council Takes Up Discussion of New Degree Proposals

The Academic Council's review of new degree proposals continued Thursday, with approval of three new master's programs and a first look at three additional degree proposals.

The council unanimously approved new master's degrees in bioethics and science policy; historical and cultural visualization; and medical physics.

The medical physics degree is the third graduate degree approved by the faculty for Duke Kunshan University, joining programs in management studies and science and global health. Undergraduate arts and sciences classes, which will be offered beginning in 2014, are going through a separate Trinity College approval process.

The proposals represent interdisciplinary initiatives supporting faculty research strengths in areas of growing academic, government and business interest.  Medical physics is the basis for specialties such as radiology, radiation oncology and nuclear medicine.  Historical and cultural visualization connects scholars from computer science, engineering, classical studies and art history who are using technology to recreate art and architecture from the past. And the bioethics and science policy program trains professionals to apply perspectives from law, science, technology and ethics on developing scientific advances, such as President Obama's new brain research initiative.

In addition faculty members presented new proposals for master's degree programs in statistical science and in economics and computation, as well as a new Ph.D. program in biostatistics.  The council will vote on these plans, all of which received general support from council members, at the council's Dec. 5 session, prior to the Board of Trustees meeting that weekend.

The economics and computation degree program will be a joint effort of computer science and economics.  Professor Carlo Tomasi said the importance of "big data" is increasing the need of economists for sophisticated computational skills, while computer scientists need to be more aware of the economic principles driving computer design and technologies.

The Department of Statistical Science also cited the interest in big data in supporting its new master's degree program.  Ranked in the Top 5 in the country, the department wants the program as a pathway for students to its Ph.D. program and to meet a growing demand in industry for skilled statisticians, said Professor Merlise Clyde.

Finally, Professor Elizabeth DeLong said the new Ph.D. program in biostatistics is in response to the current shortage of biostatisticians needed for medical research in academia, government and industry.

The six proposals before the council this semester is an unusually high number.  In recent years, many schools have added master's programs in search of new students, but at Thursday's meeting, some faculty raised questions whether the large number of new programs would change the character of Duke's graduate education. Several expressed concerns that the goal was less about academics and more about bringing in greater revenues in the aftermath of the 2008 recession. 

Others also raised academic concerns.  Professor Warren Grill of biomedical engineering said he found that large number of master's students in graduate programs diluted the quality of classes that a few years ago had a heavier proportion of Ph.D. students.

"My word of warning is not that we should not do these new degree programs, but we need to be careful about the impact of these students in our program and ensure that they don't compromise our Ph.D. students," Grill said.

Fritz Mayer of the Sanford School called the new degree plans "fine proposals," but said the large number of initiatives needed attention.  "I don't want to be obstructionist because I know faculty worked hard on these," Mayer said.  "But I want to hear the thinking from the administration and our faculty committees about our overall strategy."

The concerns have been noted elsewhere.  Academic Council Chair Josh Socolar said three faculty committees are studying the issue and he expects further discussion of it at the Academic Council in the spring.

In the meantime, time pressures required a vote on the new proposals now so that the sponsoring faculty could begin recruitment this spring for the programs to start in the fall of 2014, Socolar said.

Other faculty members said the growing number of master's programs benefited the university by bringing strong students into areas of growing academic interest and faculty strength and where there is a legitimate need for master's level skills in the professional world. 

Dan Gauthier of physics said master's programs can provide valuable experience in graduate training to undergraduate students who often are uncertain about their career interests.  "If we keep admissions standards high, master's programs can be excellent ways to get the students we want into Ph.D. programs," Gauthier said.

Provost Peter Lange said the data don't support concerns that the new proposals are primarily driven by financial incentives.  "Most of them have been driven by the intellectual interest of faculty members," Lange said.  "There has been little administration involvement.  I can't speak to the long term, and I won't deny there are some financial incentives, but our data suggest less than 20 percent of these programs have the kind of financial returns that justify the tremendous amount of effort that go into supporting them."

Several faculty panels, including the Academic Programs Committee, reviewed the proposals before they came to the council.  Lange also noted that the proposals have sunset provisions that ensure they are formally reviewed to track whether they are meeting their financial, enrollment and academic goals.