Physics
Colloquium
Transforming Physics
Graduate Education: From Equitable Admissions to Student
Success
Dr. Nick Young
Assistant Professor of
Physics
University of
Georgia
Event
Details:
Graduate education in
physics is crucial for training the next generation of leaders in
industry, government, and academia, with the latter educating future
generations of leaders in science and engineering. It is therefore
important to examine both how students gain access to graduate education
as well as their experiences that could support or hinder degree
progress. In this talk, I describe the reform efforts that occurred in a
physics department at one university as well as ongoing projects to
better understand the landscape of physics graduate education. First,
I’ll describe the implementation of a rubric-based holistic admissions
process in one department and share results that suggests the
implementation of the rubric resulted in a more equitable admissions
process. Second, I’ll share lessons from this department and
suggestions for other departments looking to revamp their admissions
process. I’ll end with an overview of ongoing projects at the
University of Georgia focused on how departments describe their programs
to potential applicants, understanding graduate teaching assistant’s
experiences, and retention rates in physics graduate programs. Together,
these threads reveal critical intervention points for creating more
inclusive and effective physics graduate
programs.
Bio: Nicholas Young is an assistant professor of physics with a focus on physics education research at the University of Georgia. He earned his PhD in physics and computational mathematics, science, and engineering at Michigan State University, and he was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation. His current research focuses on assessment in introductory physics courses and graduate education in physics.
Intended Audience: All are Welcome!
To request an interpreter, please visit myaccess.rit.edu
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