Graduate Education for Materials Scientists and Engineers: General, Special, or Fundamental?

Extract

What is an appropriate educational program for preparing a PhD to enter the general work force, particularly in materials science and engineering, but also more broadly in all science and engineering fields? The question can be proposed at two different levels: What is the character of the information, knowledge, and the training a student ought to store away and be able to use after leaving the academy, and what specific information or courses does someone need to be an expert?

Since I do not have expertise in every aspect of materials science and engineering, and since the latter question can be handled through concerted effort of the appropriate experts, I will focus only on the first question.

To paraphrase the first question more starkly, how much of a generalist should a PhD be and how much of a specialist? I will try to define the generalist and specialist in polar perspective, in the sense that I use them:

1. A specialist must be grounded in that specialty, conversant with its literature and new findings, and able to converse with other specialists in the field to exchange information and perspectives.

2. A generalist must be well-grounded in the fundamentals of numerous fields. It is not necessary to be a specialist in many fields, but a generalist must have access to and be able to find and digest the happenings and literature in these other fields.