10/3/2024 Ben Libman
Graduate education in bioengineering has been under researched, with only seven papers published on the topic from 2019 to 2023, compared to 256 on undergraduate education. To address this, Bioengineering professor Jenny Amos led a special issue on graduate education for the Biomedical Engineering Education journal. Amos, who directs the department's Master of Engineering program, co-authored an editorial that highlights the need for greater transparency in graduate programs and the importance of aligning degree paths with industry trends.
Written by Ben Libman
Graduate education is a vital step in the life cycle of any academic discipline. It is crucial to the development of graduate students and for the labs in which they work. So why is so little research done on graduate education?
In a five-year stretch from 2019-2023 there were 256 papers on bioengineering undergraduate education. Over the same period, there have been only seven articles on graduate education, despite the rise in graduate student enrollment in graduate programs. There are likely many reasons for this discrepancy— undergraduate education can be seen as more uniform, and therefore more easily discussed in scientific forums. Graduate education is much more one-on-one and tailored to the individual students and professors, making discussion more difficult. Still, discussion of graduate education is critical.
Luckily, bioengineering professor Jenny Amos is doing something about it. She, along with a few others at the Biomedical Engineering Education journal, has chosen to do a special issue on the subject. As Editor in Chief for the special issue she was in charge of promotion, gathering papers, and leading the editing of papers. In addition, she co-authored an editorial entitled “Overview of Biomedical Engineering Graduate Education Landscape,” along with Katherine E. Reuther & Mia K. Markey, which lays out some solutions and introduces the remainder of the special issue.
Professor Amos has a personal interest in the subject. She not only teaches in bioengineering’s Master of Engineering program but serves as the program’s director. “I am passionate about getting students into the right degree paths that match their career goals and making sure that our programs are in tune with trends in the industry,” says Amos. She co-authored a paper in the special issue, titled “BME Master's Programs: Who Are They for and What Can They Offer?”, that focuses on specialized masters programs and how they meet the needs of students.
There are several areas of focus across the journal. One emphasis is on “hidden curriculum” in graduate education. This hidden curriculum can make it difficult for prospective students to even apply.
“All graduate programs are managed differently, so if a student is applying to 10 programs, they have to tailor each application and also have to figure out if the program expects them to match ahead of being admitted or if they will be given a rotation later on,” says Amos. “Students are often unaware of these types of practices. The more we can do to make students aware, the more inclusive our programs can be.”
Professor Amos is already taking steps to clarify this process. The Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Education Committee, of which she is the chair, will host a session at this year’s annual BMES conference entitled “Demystifying graduate school options and application processes,” where a panel of program directors and staff will help explain this concept to prospective students.
The special issue covered a variety of other topics, such as the responsible conduct of research. According to Amos’ editorial, “topics related to the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) are often not covered in undergraduate education, yet they are an expectation of graduate-level training according to national funding agencies.1” Other topics covered include teaching practices, emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, and a focus on international students.
The special issue has garnered significant attention. “Already, more articles about graduate education have been submitted to the journal since the issue was published,” says Amos. “We aim to close the gap on publication numbers between undergraduate and graduate education in the coming years. BME Education is a vibrant community that involves people who dedicate their research to educational programs but also involves faculty who do more traditional bench research and are doing innovative things in the classroom and beyond. For that reason, the community is ever-expanding and inclusive.”