Faculty Advisors for Professional Science Master’s Students

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation initiated development of Professional Science Master’s (PSM) programs in 1997, and there are currently more than 45 universities across the U.S. offering PSM degrees. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has been supporting and expanding this initiative since 2006 with the goal of making the PSM a regular feature of U.S. graduate education. A newly formed National PSM Association complements the work of CGS.

Professional Science Master’s students have graduate studies in science integrated with special training in business management, communication, ethics, and professional skills that prepare them to serve as effective liaisons between the scientific and business arms of industries and agencies. These are non-thesis Master’s degrees that require an internship experience in lieu of a research project. Otherwise, PSM students should be treated just like traditional M.S. students in that they are required to complete a final report on their internship experience and present this as a seminar on the day of their oral examination.

As the Major Professor of a PSM student, your role is primarily that of an advisor. You are not responsible for supporting them for a thesis research project, although some exposure to research is desirable. Students are required to complete an internship, which is a rigorously enforced requirement and should serve as an integrative educational experience for the student. Students are responsible for developing their internship project under your guidance, and projects can be focused on developing research or other types of skills. An internship proposal, journal, final report, and an oral presentation given in conjunction with the final oral examination are required (please see our Internships web pages for details). Graduate committee approval of the proposal and final report is required.

Responsibilities of the major professor or graduate committee member for a PSM student include:

• Advising related to coursework, the Program of Study, and general departmental and university requirements for M.S. students
• Mentoring (e.g., recommending conferences, journals, networking opportunities)
• Facilitating laboratory rotations or research experiences for students interested in learning specific laboratory techniques or research methods
• Providing feedback on and final approval of the internship proposal
• Checking on progress made during the internship at regular intervals
• Reviewing the internship journal and approving the final report, which serves as the student’s Master's thesis
• Leading/participating in the final oral examination, and signing forms required by the Graduate School and PSM Program (e.g., Program of Study, internship proposal, internship report, oral examination).

Graduate students enrolled in a Professional Science Master's (PSM) program at OSU are currently awarded a non-thesis M.S. in their department (see below). However, plans are underway to designate the PSM as a separate degree at OSU in the near future.