STEM PhDs Research Articles

Faculty as catalysts for training new inventors: Differential outcomes for male and female PhD students

STEM PhDs are a critical source of human capital in the economy, contributing to commercial as well as academic science. We examine whether STEM PhD students become new inventors (file their first patent) during their doctoral training at the top 25 U.S. universities (by patenting). We find that 4% of PhDs become new inventors. However, among PhDs of faculty who are themselves top (prolific) inventors, this figure rises to 23%. These faculty train 44% of all the new inventor PhDs by copatenting with their advisees. We also explore whether new inventor PhDs are equally distributed by gender. In our university sample, the female share of new inventors is 9% points (pp) lower than the female share of PhDs. Several channels contribute to this: First, female PhDs are less likely to be trained by top inventor advisors (TIs) than male PhDs. Second, they are less likely to be trained by (the larger number of) male top inventors: The estimated gap in the female % of PhDs between female and male TIs is 7 to 9 pp. Third, female PhDs (supervised by top inventors and especially by other faculty) have a lower probability of becoming new inventors relative to their male counterparts. Notably, we find that male and female top inventors have similar rates of transforming their female advisees into new inventors at 4 to 8 pp lower (17 to 26% lower rate) than for male advisees. The gap remains at 4 pp comparing students of the same advisor and controlling for thesis topic.

Faculty as Catalysts for New Inventors: Differential Outcomes for Male and Female PhD Students

STEM PhDs are a critical source of human capital in the innovation economy. However, their training may not have kept pace with expectations of their contributions, upon graduation, to commercial as well as academic science. We examine whether STEM PhDs engage in patenting as students, becoming new inventors (file their first patent) during doctoral training at leading U.S. universities. Overall, we find that 4% of STEM PhDs become new inventors while training. However, for advisees of faculty who are themselves top (prolific) inventors, this rises to 23%. Indeed, top inventor faculty train over 45% of new inventor PhDs by co-patenting with their advisees. Given concerns over gender inclusion, we also explore whether new inventors are equally distributed by gender. We find that in our sample, the share of female new inventors in patents is 9 percentage points lower than the share of female STEM PhDs. Various mechanisms explain this gap. First, female PhDs are less likely to be trained by top inventor faculty advisors than male PhDs (and more likely to be trained by the smaller number of female top inventors). Second, female PhDs (with either top inventor or other faculty advisors) have a lower probability of becoming a new inventor relative to male counterparts. Importantly, we find that male and female top inventors have similar rates of transforming their female advisees into new inventors at about 8 percentage points lower than for male advisees.

International doctoral graduates as inventors in the German innovation system

ABSTRACT We study patenting activities of international STEM PhDs trained at German universities to explore their integration into the German innovation system and their role in the international diffusion of technology. International PhD inventors with German inventor addresses file a disproportionate share of patents with applicants from their home countries. Our results do not indicate that they are more likely to cite, or be cited by, patents from their home country or other international patents.

The Sustained Scientist in the Classroom Partnership: A Model for Innovative STEM Graduate Training Programs

The Scientist in the Classroom Partnership (SCP) is a program of the Vanderbilt Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach (CSEO) that partners scientists-in-training (graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) with classroom teachers to co-teach one day per week in elementary and middle schools. The program was initially funded through an NSF GK-12 award, and has been sustained since 2007 through a collaboration between the Vanderbilt CSEO and Metro Nashville Public Schools. Over the 20 years of the program, more than 180 STEM graduate students and postdoctoral fellows have participated. In the current study, the impact of the program on the 83 participants from 2000-2009 was examined using Likert-scale and open-ended surveys. Results indicated that participants gained skills not often found in traditional research training programs, including teaching, communication, teamwork, and leadership. These results strongly suggest that the SCP represents a program that provides STEM PhDs with skills beyond the usual graduate training programs that they will need as they enter traditional and non-traditional STEM careers.

Understanding STEM PhD Production: The Interplay Among Institutional Selectivity, Race/Ethnicity, and Field of Study

Abstract: Focusing on census data of U.S. doctoral recipients during the last 10 years, we examined PhD production and undergraduate origins with a particular emphasis on institutional selectivity. Specifically, this study had three overarching goals: (1) examining STEM PhD production with an emphasis on the selectivity of doctoral programs; (2) examining the selectivity of undergraduate origins among STEM PhDs from highly selective doctoral programs; and (3) examining whether the patterns of STEM PhD production and undergraduate origins differ by race/ethnicity. This study found significantly different patterns in PhD production overall versus PhDs from top 10 doctoral programs and in the selectivity of undergraduate institutions that produce the number of PhDs overall versus PhDs from the top 10 doctoral programs. We further found that PhD production across varied selectivity of doctoral program and its association with the undergraduate origins differ significantly across different racial/ethnic groups. Implications for policy, programs, and future research are discussed.

Preparing Industry Leaders: The Role of Doctoral Education and Early Career Management Training in the Leadership Trajectories of Women STEM PhDs

Preparing Industry Leaders: The Role of Doctoral Education and Early Career Management Training in the Leadership Trajectories of Women STEM PhDs

Fear, fuel, and fire!: Black STEM doctoral students’ career decisions during the Trump presidency

President Trump’s education policies continue to marginalize Black STEM students at the highest levels of education. Responding to a survey on their racialized educational experiences and future career trajectories, an ethnically diverse group of Black STEM doctoral students expressed anxiety about trying to pursue a STEM career during the Trump presidency. Their responses reflected their heightened sense of urgency to be change agents for racial justice in both the STEM arena and the wider society. These survey findings demonstrate that the Trump administration has created anxiety among minoritized people about pursuing STEM careers and triggered an activist spirit in this group of future STEM PhDs. In this paper, I discuss the ways the racist ideologies, practices, and policies of the Trump administration are impairing scientific innovation and increasing activism among Black STEMers. The findings reveal a vital need to continue discussing the consequences of the Trump administration’s assault on Blacks in the STEM disciplines.

The impact of permanent residency delays for STEM PhDs: Who leaves and why

This paper assesses whether delays in obtaining permanent residency status can explain recent declines in the share of Chinese and Indian PhD graduates from US STEM programs who remain in the US after their studies. We find that newly-binding limits on permanent visas for those from China and India with advanced degrees are significantly associated with declines in stay rates. The stay rate of Chinese graduates declines by 2.1 percentage points for each year of delay, while Indian graduates facing delays of at least 5½ years have a stay rate that is 10.6 percentage points lower. The per-country permanent visa cap affects a large share of STEM PhDs who are disproportionately found in fields of study that have been crucial in stimulating US economic growth yet enroll relatively few natives. Finally, results suggest that the growth of science in countries of origin has an important influence on stay rates, while macroeconomic factors such as GDP per capita affect stay rates only via their impact on science funding. We conclude that per-country limits play a significant role in constraining the supply of highly skilled STEM workers in the US economy.

U.S. Visa Policies and STEM PhD Employment in Technology Startups

Visa policies to retain United States-trained STEM PhDs are of central importance to national innovation and economic competitiveness. There is also growing interest in “startup” visas that stimulate entrepreneurial activity and job creation, particularly in technology sectors. However, there is little understanding of how visa policies might influence foreign PhDs’ employment in technology startups. This study investigates differences between 2,324 foreign and US PhDs from US research universities using a longitudinal survey of individuals’ preferences and characteristics during graduate school and their subsequent employment in a startup or established firm. Among PhDs whose first job is industrial research & development, 15.8% of US PhDs work in a startup compared with 6.8% of foreign PhDs. Foreign PhDs are as likely as US PhDs to apply to and receive offers for startup jobs, but conditional on receiving an offer, they are 56% less likely to work in a startup. This disparity is partially explained by differences in visa sponsorship between startups and established firms and not by foreign PhDs’ preferences for established firm jobs, risk tolerance, or preference for higher pay. Foreign PhDs who first work in an established firm and subsequently receive a green card are more likely to move to a startup than another established firm, suggesting that permanent residency facilitates startup employment. These findings suggest that US visa policies may deter foreign PhDs from working in startups, thereby restricting startups’ access to a large segment of the STEM PhD workforce and impairing startups’ ability to contribute to innovation and economic growth.

Why foreign STEM PhDs are unlikely to work for US technology startups.

Visa policies to retain United States-trained STEM PhDs are of central importance to national innovation and economic competitiveness. There is also growing interest in "startup" visas that stimulate entrepreneurial activity and job creation, particularly in technology sectors. However, there is little understanding of how visa policies might influence foreign PhDs' employment in technology startups. This study investigates differences between 2,324 foreign and US PhDs from US research universities using a longitudinal survey of individuals' preferences and characteristics during graduate school and their subsequent employment in a startup or established firm. Among PhDs whose first job is industrial research & development, 15.8% of US PhDs work in a startup compared with 6.8% of foreign PhDs. Foreign PhDs are as likely as US PhDs to apply to and receive offers for startup jobs, but conditional on receiving an offer, they are 56% less likely to work in a startup. This disparity is partially explained by differences in visa sponsorship between startups and established firms and not by foreign PhDs' preferences for established firm jobs, risk tolerance, or preference for higher pay. Foreign PhDs who first work in an established firm and subsequently receive a green card are more likely to move to a startup than another established firm, suggesting that permanent residency facilitates startup employment. These findings suggest that US visa policies may deter foreign PhDs from working in startups, thereby restricting startups' access to a large segment of the STEM PhD workforce and impairing startups' ability to contribute to innovation and economic growth.

Building a career planning course for STEM PhDs.

Incorporating career development into PhD course offerings can help biomedical students better understand themselves, as well as the job market, and to adopt a 'can-do' attitude in developing their own paths.

Career outcomes for STEM PhDs

Career outcomes for STEM PhDs

Earnings And Job Satisfaction Of US Science And Engineering Baccalaureate Recipients With Advanced Degrees

Using 2003 US data, this paper examines job satisfaction and economic returns to science and engineering (STEM) baccalaureate recipients who obtain STEM PhDs or professional degrees in the fields of law, MBA, medicine, and MS engineering. The salient finding of this research is that the future STEM PhD supply will largely be determined by the availability of tenured academic positions. Despite inferior economic returns, job satisfaction for STEM PhD recipients significantly exceeds that of other professional degree recipients except for medicine. Superior job satisfaction for STEM PhDs results almost entirely from employment in tenured academic positions. 55 percent of STEM PhDs working outside the academic sector have similar job satisfaction compared to professional degree recipients but without the economic rewards. This analysis further suggests STEM PhDs would not have higher job satisfaction if they had completed degrees in medicine or law instead of PhDs. The policy to increase STEM PhD employment in the US economy has focused on supply. The findings of this paper indicate that a demand-side focus may be a more effective policy and that the future STEM PhD supply will be largely driven by the availability of full-time tenure-track academic job openings.

Outcomes and Processes in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program: STEM PhD Completion, Sense of Community, Perceived Program Benefit, Science Identity, and Research Self-Efficacy.

Previous research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is an effective intervention for high-achieving underrepresented minority (URM) students; African-American Meyerhoff students are significantly more likely to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) PhD programs than comparison students. The first of two studies in this report extends the prior research by examining levels of PhD completion for Meyerhoff (N = 479) versus comparison sample (N = 249) students among the first 16 cohorts. Entering African-American Meyerhoff students were 4.8 times more likely to complete STEM PhDs than comparison sample students. To enhance understanding of potential mechanisms of influence, the second study used data from the 22nd (Fall 2010) to 25th (Fall 2013) cohorts (N = 109) to test the hypothesis that perceived program benefit at the end of freshman year would mediate the relationship between sense of community at the end of Summer Bridge and science identity and research self-efficacy at the end of sophomore year. Study 2 results indicated that perceived program benefit fully mediated the relationship between sense of community and both criterion measures. The findings underscore the potential of comprehensive STEM intervention programs to enhance PhD completion, and suggest mechanisms of influence.

Data science can be an attractive career for physicists

Boot camps can help researchers transition into nonacademic jobs that use big data.

Understanding the Gender Gap in STEM Fields Entrepreneurship

While it is generally understood that a gender gap exists in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, less research has been done on women entrepreneurs in the STEM fields. This report expands on the limited literature specific to women entrepreneurs within STEM fields. In addition, it aims to identify any significant factors or trends that may prove useful to those interested in policies directed at increasing participation of women entrepreneurs in STEM fields.Recognizing that STEM fields contribute to high-quality job growth and economic innovation, Congress reauthorized the America Competes Act in 2010, increasing funding for STEM education and research. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey reports significant reductions in earnings gaps for STEM workers relative to all workers. These results were consistent across gender and race/ethnicity. Finally, beyond potential economic contributions, male and female STEM PhDs who engage in entrepreneurial ventures are significantly more likely to report high levels of job satisfaction. As such, STEM fields contribute to a wide spectrum of economic growth opportunities.

Accomplishment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and its relation to STEM educational dose: A 25-year longitudinal study.

Two studies examined the relationship between precollegiate advanced/enriched educational experiences and adult accomplishments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In Study 1, 1,467 13-year-olds were identified as mathematically talented on the basis of scores 500 (top 0.5%) on the math section of the Scholastic Assessment Test; subsequently, their developmental trajectories were studied over 25 years. Particular attention was paid to high-level STEM accomplishments with low base rates in the general population (STEM PhDs, STEM publications, STEM tenure, STEM patents, and STEM occupations). Study 2 retrospectively profiled the adolescent advanced/enriched educational experiences of 714 top STEM graduate students (mean age 25), and related these experiences to their STEM accomplishments up to age 35. In both longitudinal studies, those with notable STEM accomplishments manifested past histories involving a richer density of advanced precollegiate educational opportunities in STEM (a higher “STEM dose”) than less highly achieving members of their respective cohorts. While both studies are quasi-experimental, they suggest that for mathematically talented and academically motivated young adolescents, STEM accomplishments are facilitated by a rich mix of precollegiate STEM educational opportunities that are designed to be intellectually challenging, even for students at precocious developmental levels. These opportunities appear to be uniformly important for both sexes.

Enhancing the Number of African Americans Who Pursue STEM PhDs: Meyerhoff Scholarship Program Outcomes, Processes, and Individual Predictors.

The current study examines the outcomes, processes, and individual predictors of pursuit of a STEM PhD among African-American students in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. Meyerhoff students were nearly five times more likely than comparison students to pursue a STEM PhD. Program components consistently rated as important were financial scholarship, being part of the Meyerhoff Program community, the Summer Bridge program, study groups, staff academic advising, and summer research opportunities. Furthermore, focus group findings revealed student internalization of key Meyerhoff Program values, including a commitment to excellence, accountability, group success, and giving back. In terms of individual predictors, multinomial logit regression analyses revealed that Meyerhoff students with higher levels of research excitement at college entry were more likely to pursue a STEM PhD.

Increasing the number of African American PhDs in the sciences and engineering: a strengths-based approach.

Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, the percentage of African American students who receive PhDs in natural science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields remains disappointingly low. A multifaceted, strengths-based approach to intervention and research that holds great promise for increasing the number of African American students who achieve at the highest levels academically is described. This work began in 1988 with the development of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program for undergraduate minority STEM majors at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). If current PhD receipt rates of program graduates continue, UMBC will in all likelihood become the leading predominantly White baccalaureate-origin university for Black STEM PhDs in the nation. The program is described and outcome and process findings from its ongoing evaluation are highlighted. The parenting practices that helped these youths to overcome the odds and achieve at the highest levels prior to coming to college are also examined.