Global Ethics Corner: Should Universities be Giving so Many Ph.D.'s?
From: Carnegie Council
Series: Global Ethics Corner
Length: 02:01
Global Ethics Corner is a weekly 2 minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues. It presents both sides of an issue, asking viewers to weigh the information and make up their own minds.
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Piece Description
Global Ethics Corner is a weekly 2 minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues. It presents both sides of an issue, asking viewers to weigh the information and make up their own minds.
Transcript
Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of students enter Ph.D. programs each year. And historically, a Ph.D. has been a ticket to some kind of career in academia.
But in recent years, these academic pursuits have developed a dark side. The number of Ph.D.'s on welfare has spiked since the great recession. At least 33,000 U.S. Ph.D. graduates are now on food stamps. Many earn less than minimum wage teaching at universities large and small.
An increasing number of Ph.D.'s means that the supply of academic specialists far outstrips the demand for their services. In response to funding cuts in higher education, university administrators have replaced many tenure-track professors with part-time adjunct instructors. As adjuncts, Ph.D.'s lack health benefits and job security. Worse still, they earn what many say is far below a living wage.
So why do so many universities continue to encourage stude...
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Additional Credits
Deborah Carroll – Executive Producer
Marlene Spoerri – Contributing Writer
Julia Kennedy - Content Editor
Robert Smithline - Editor
Terence Hurley - Editor
Gusta Johnson - Production Assistant
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