Combined science, management degree provides career edge, study says - Tech Talk - Professional Science Masters degrees in high demand by employers

Black Issues in Higher Education, July 17, 2003 by Ronald Roach

NEW YORK

A new master's degree--combining business and management expertise with scientific and technical study--is giving many graduates a head start in getting hard-to-find jobs in high-tech industries, according to a study by the Conference Board organization.

The study reported that students earning "Professional Science Masters (PSM)" degrees, a program launched by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 1997, are doing well in securing jobs. This is particularly tree in the biotech industry, where employment has more than doubled to 191,000 jobs over the last decade.

A survey of PSM graduates shows that about 90 percent got jobs in their chosen fields. About 39 percent identified biotechnology as the industry where they are now employed or are seeking jobs. This is more than twice as many as the second most-cited industry, computer hardware and software. Among other industries named were business services and chemical and biopharmaceutical.

"The growth of high-tech industries depends greatly on availability of a work force that is adequate not just in numbers but, more importantly, in professional scientific qualifications," says Cassandra Simmons, a consultant to the Conference Board. "Even in the current downturn, the demand for a skilled scientific and technological work force outstrips supply in many areas. The gap is a result of vigorous growth from 1992-2001."

Universities now awarding Professional Science Masters degrees include Case Western Reserve University, Claremont Graduate University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, Michigan State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Arizona, University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Southern California and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The New York city-based Conference Board organization is a globally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to management research, convening business conferences, making economic forecasts, assessing market trends, and publishing information and analysis.