The ACES Project focuses on improving and enriching the graduate experience in chemistry, including both curricular and extracurricular activities.

The ACES Project has been funded by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation and is affiliated with the  Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID).  Its activities are coordinated with the Stony Brook Chemistry GAANN (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need) Program, which provides fellowships to 7 Stony Brook graduate students annually.

Background

We developed the ACES project to address the issues raised in the report: At Cross Purposes: What the experiences of doctoral students reveal about doctoral education (Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia, PA, January, 2001), by Chris M. Golde and Timothy M. Dore.  The report describes the results of Golde and Dore's survey of doctoral students in selected disciplines, including chemistry.  The authors found that, as a group, students felt uninformed about career opportunities outside academia.  In addition, although students considered themselves prepared for independent research, they were less confident in their training for the other responsibilities of a professional career.  The Golde/Dore report served as a wake-up call, demonstrating the need to provide a more complete graduate experience to doctoral students.

The Dreyfus Foundation has provided funding for the ACES project since 2002.  In 2003, we joined the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate, a national effort to identify best practices in graduate education, organized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.  The CID has brought together representatives from departments like ours that are committed to strengthening graduate education, allowing us to share our findings and benefit from each other's efforts. 

Approach

The ACES Project aims to strengthen all aspects of graduate education, including the first-year experience, organization of the thesis committee, milestones toward the degree, and additional scholarly, professional development, and social activities that contribute to the academic environment.  In all these efforts, graduate students and faculty work together as a team.

In December, 2003, we undertook a complete assessment of our graduate program, led by a group of dedicated graduate students.  The findings from this assessment have served as the basis for both minor and significant improvements to our program.  The next assessment of our program will be carried out in Fall 2006.

A major focus of the ACES Project has been to address student needs beyond research, by offering professional development activities and information on a variety of career options.

We have also worked to strengthen student involvement in governance of the doctoral program. For example, in addition to student participation in the ACES Project itself, we have increased student representation on department committees that have relevance to the graduate program.

Recognition

In August, 2004, Andisheh Abedini and Nancy Goroff participated in the American Chemical Society's Presidential Symposium on Graduate Education, at the ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia.  Andi was invited as the only graduate student member of the panel discussing Project and Program Assessment, while Nancy served on the panel discussing ways to improve Departmental and Institutional Climate.

In September, 2005, Nancy Goroff and Eryk Stolarzewicz were invited to participate in the CID Convening on Developing Intellectual Communities in Palo Alto, California.

For some additional sites that focus on PhD education, see

http://www.grad.washington.edu/envision/

http://chris.golde.org/resources.htm

Kathlyn A. Parker
and Nancy S. Goroff
ACES/CID Coordinators