2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 235: Design and Implementation of a Professional Development Course for Interdisciplinary Computational Science Graduate Students

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

Students in computational science graduate programs have unique challenges due to the interdisciplinary nature of this field. Students entering interdisciplinary graduate programs must quickly adapt and gain knowledge in other disciplines, learn to communicate across disciplinary boundaries, navigate ambiguity in what it means to be an interdisciplinary expert, and face challenges from the lack of clarity in any pathway to developing interdisciplinary expertise and uncertain career paths,. Helping students navigate these challenges, creating awareness of their unique opportunities and challenges in the pursuit of careers as interdisciplinary scientists, and helping them discover models for interdisciplinary identities required a concerted and tailored approach to provide academic support and professional development.

This paper presents the experiences and lessons learned in the design and development of a professional development course designed for first year graduate students in an interdisciplinary computational science program, under an NSF S-STEM grant funded project titled "Academic Support, Career Training, and Professional Development to Improve Interdisciplinary Graduate Education for the Next Generation of Computational Scientists and Engineers". Herein we discuss the development and implementation of this two-semester course sequence (1 credit each semester). The course modules included (a) Understanding the academic challenges, goals and timelines in the interdisciplinary computational science program, (b) Individual Development Planning, (c) Career Exploration, (d) Communication Skills, (e) Networking, Finding Mentors & Mentoring, (f) Understanding and Exploring Pathways to Interdisciplinary Careers, (f) Leadership and Entrepreneurship Skills for career success, (g) Professional & Responsible Conduct, (h) Mental Health & Wellbeing. These topics were tailored specifically for the needs of computational science students with a goal to increase their awareness and preparation for interdisciplinary careers. This paper discusses the modifications and adaptations made to foster the success of first year graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds through navigating interdisciplinary computational science and developing peer cohorts and pathways to careers.

Course learning outcomes and students’ development were assessed using assignments and reflective writing. Results after three successive years of offering this course show that a tailored professional development course helps students better understand their academic pathways, better understand career options, utilize opportunities for professional growth, develop effective peer cohorts, and express more satisfaction with their experiences as graduate students.

Authors

Prof. Satchi Venkataraman http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9217-2170 San Diego State University [biography]

Satchi Venkataraman, Ph.D., is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering. He has served as Graduate Advisor for the Aerospace Engineering program (17 years) and as an Associate Director at the Computational Sciences Research Center at San Diego State University (11 years). His expertise is in computational mechanics and optimization applied to design of lightweight and durable composite aircraft structures. He has extensive experience in developing programs for student professional development and broadening participation (co-PI and PI on three NSF S-STEM grants). He has led a number of undergraduate training and summer research programs focussed on supporting first-generation and underrepresented minority students.
Dr. Dustin B. Thoman San Diego State University [biography]

Dr. Dustin Thoman is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education at San Diego State University. His scholarship is grounded in social psychology, diversity science, and a social contextual framework of motivation. He studies how motivation can be supported or disrupted by the social and cultural contexts in which interests are sparked, developed, and ultimately become (or not) lifelong pursuits. He and his team utilize insights from motivation science to identify and remove institutional and social-contextual barriers that impede the development of educational and career interests for students from marginalized and historically underrepresented backgrounds. Improving equity and inclusion is at the heart of his team's research and translational work to support research on equity and inclusion in STEM education.
Ms. Susan Wainscott http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9994-0956 University of Nevada, Las Vegas [biography]

Susan Wainscott is the Engineering Librarian for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from San Jose State University and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from Illinois State University.
Prof. Jose E Castillo San Diego State University [biography]

Dr. Castillo is the Founder and Director of the Computational Science Research Center and the Computational Science
Program at SDSU. The Center, founded in 1999, facilitates cooperation between the university and industry as well as
national laboratories. The center involves participation of researchers from applied mathematics, astronomy, biology,
chemistry/biochemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics and statistics, physics, geophysics, and engineering. Dr.
Castillo also created the MS in Computational Science in 1999 and the Ph.D in Computational Science in 2002
respectively. The Ph.D. program has graduated over 90 students, and the MS has graduated 70 students. He continues to build
partnerships with regional industry and national laboratories for campus research efforts through the Applied
Computational Science and Engineering Student Support (ACSESS) program

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