A report on the conference Graduate Education in Physics: Which Way Forward?

This isn't about solid state or optical physics, but should be of interest to current and prospective graduate students, and those who interact with them in any capacity. People who attended this conference promised to report back to their departments, and I'd like to take this opportunity to do so. An APS/AAPT-sponsored conference to focus national attention on graduate education in physics took place at the American Center for Physics (ACP) in College Park, MD from January 30 � February 2, 2008. There were 94 participants from about 70 of the 186 Physics Ph.D.-granting universities, professional societies, and industry. Amid overall agreement that U.S. graduate physics programs remain competitive, there is also overall recognition that international competition is stronger and will become more so. Physics is diversifying, but the curriculum remains largely unchanged. The US population is diversifying, but this is not represented in physics. Graduate students in physics need better mentoring within physics programs and to prepare them for diverse employment. In particular, faculty recognize a perception among students that non-academic employment represents a �consolation prize�, and this culture needs to be changed. There is a strong recognition that the historical success of physics graduate programs has been intimately linked to government funding of research, and that this is unlikely to change in the near term. Many useful suggestions for local action came from individual sessions, and the group as a whole had some ideas about what role national organizations might play. I will discuss these and other themes that emerged from the meeting, and hope to hear your thoughts on our graduate program and its future. Conference website: http://www.aps.org/programs/education/conference.cfm *The conference was partially funded by the National Science Foundation.