Joining the ranks of more than 60 institutions and graduate programmes across the United States, the biological sciences division of the University of Chicago in Illinois has cut a standard test from its graduate admissions requirements. The decision aims to boost the likelihood of admission for minority and female applicants by levelling the playing field. Read more
US academic institutions continue to enhance postdoctoral researcher experiences, but there is room for significant improvement, according to a 3 January report from the NPA in Rockville, Maryland. Read more
Both supply and demand have contributed to an research-and-development (R&D) career bottleneck, according to a 15 December Science article signed by the 10 research leaders, who call themselves the Coalition for Next Generation Life Science. US federal research funding, when adjusted for inflation, declined by nearly 20% from 2003 to 2016, according to the article. Meanwhile, PhD candidates continue to enroll in doctoral programmes. The result is that only one in 10 trainees will gain a tenure-track position within five years of receiving their PhD. Many PhD holders then spend longer than they had anticipated in postdoc training positions, sometimes taking multiple fellowships while waiting for academic job openings to materialize. And the ones who do land such positions are taking longer to secure their first independent grant. Read more
Congratulations on your faculty position at a newly established college! You think you know what the job entails: teaching, research, and some administrative service. As you read job advice, you wonder why so many pieces include the phrase “survival tips.” “Surviving” was your most-commonly-used word during your PhD and postdoc. Surely, there‘s no more surviving to be had in a brand new college? Read more
The attitude means that workplace regulations around assault or harassment either don’t exist in the field or aren’t enforced, says Robin Nelson, an anthropologist at Santa Clara University in California. The study follows on from one conducted in 2013 that found that about two-thirds of the 666 women who were surveyed experienced some sort of assault or harassment in the field during their career. Read more
Applications for two grant schemes open on 3 August, including ‘Starting’ grants of up to €1.5 million for up to 5 years for PIs who earned their PhD within 2-7 years ago; and a new collaborative programme, the ‘Synergy’ grant, which will fund 2-4 PIs in a cross-disciplinary project. The Synergy scheme, which awards up to €10 million for 6 years, was piloted in 2012 and 2013. The deadline is 17 October for Starting grant applications and 14 November for Synergy applications. Read more
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Milgram, who spoke at NIH’s 10th annual Career Symposium in May, says that junior scientists, including graduate students and postdocs, need to become active participants in their career development, and that a chief component of that participation is talking with people about various career paths. “Talk with them — and learn from them,” she told her symposium audience. Read more
A new report has uncovered serious shortcomings in the support system for postdoc parents in the United States. The report, based on survey data compiled by the US National Postdoc Association and published by the San Francisco, California-based Center for Workplace Law, found widespread confusion, anxiety and frustration among parents. The report suggested several potential reforms, including clearly stated policies on maternal and paternal leaves. Read more
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