Training grants only cover a small portion or fraction of a student s time in graduate school. Training grants are useful for the beginning years of a student s graduate education, but are not necessarily the most appropriate mechanism for funding of the bulk of the student s thesis work. In laboratories that have students funded by both mechanisms, it is very difficult to distinguish the students based on their source of funding. There is also little difference in how the students funded from training or research grants are treated or what pressures are put on them. There are pressures to publish, but this occurs whether students are funded by training grants or research grants.
Productivity is essential for students, mentors, and science.
There should be mechanisms to assess when pressures for success in a project become too great e.g., graduate advisory committees, dual mentors, departmental or program evaluations. Career transition grants may also prolong the time before people obtain more permanent positions. The Council supports this recommendation. However, it notes that research intensive degrees are also appropriate for training scientists who will function as part of a team, serve as technical core facility directors, or serve as creative teachers who understand and can communicate the principles of experimental design and the excitement of scientific advances to undergraduates and others. The Council believes that partnerships with industry may be particularly appropriate to fund such new programs.