There is a new post in The Atlantic about the program. The post concludes with an interview with a U. of Del. political science faculty member who opposes the new program and explains how much is required to pass muster at U. of Del. and have a program. He says, “…The senate gives careful review to every proposal for a new program, minor, major, new course, etc. A new Ph.D. program will be reviewed by a number of college and university curriculum committees before it comes to the floor of the Senate for a vote. No approval, no program…” So I looked at U. of Deleware’s Pol. Sci. website to see what happens to their doctoral graduates. Though this is a touchy subject, I commented in The Atlantic on what I saw.
“Yes, I agree that only RESPONSIBLE academics should control doctoral programs but just where are we to get these responsible professors? I don’t know what is true of the political science program at U. of Del. but their placement data worries me. Of the 25 of their PhD graduates (over the past 13 years) that I counted who were placed at a U.S. college, only two (at the most) were placed as professors at anything like a top school. (http://www.udel.edu/poscir/gra… Just based on this data, I worry that JP Morgan may do a more responsible job than the professors. After all, they have a horse in this game. But at the same time, I agree that JP Morgan should not be involved, other than to let their judgment of U. of Delaware’s doctorates be known. In any case, as I have been saying in my blog inside-higher-ed.com, we have a problem here. (In my blog, I discuss faux-phd’s and how some of them end up hurting education.)
Addendum: I want my position to be understood. It could be misunderstood since there is a fine line that separates the perception of “standards”, “integrity” and “elitism”. I believe that everyone should have a chance to learn as much as they can. Standards and Integrity don’t hinder that. Elitism does.”
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