A restructuring of The City University of New York’s Ph.D. science programs has been approved by Gov. David Paterson and the New York State Board of Regents, an action that maintains the University’s competitive capacity and both recognizes and bolsters the senior colleges’ strongest science offerings.
     The plan, initiated by the University upon the recommendation of a blue-ribbon task force and approved by its Board of Trustees in February, places the spotlight on science at CUNY and acknowledges the longtime achievements of faculty. It creates new doctoral fellowships and changes the way Ph.D.s in the sciences are granted.
     "This is a historic moment for this University," said University Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, who convened the task force of distinguished scientists and educators that examined CUNY’s science programs over three years.
      The initiative approved by Albany provides significant new financial support for science doctoral students, including 90 new fellowship packages offering free tuition, $24,000 stipends and health benefits over five years. For the first time, it also empowers two senior colleges, City College and Hunter College, to grant doctoral degrees in the sciences jointly with the University, whereas previously all Ph.D.s were granted by the University’s Graduate School and University Center.
      Hunter and City, which together educate 50 percent of CUNY’s doctoral students, now will grant joint doctoral degrees with The Graduate Center in biology, chemistry, biochemistry and physics. Additionally, Hunter and The Graduate Center will offer a joint Ph.D. in public health, and City, through its Grove School of Engineering, will grant engineering Ph.D.s – the only CUNY college to do so. It is expected that other senior colleges – including Brooklyn College – will participate in the joint-degree doctoral program as they strengthen their commitment to high-level sciences.
      The joint-degree plan enhances the ability of the senior colleges – where science teaching and research takes place – to showcase their work to government and private funders. The colleges will now be able to access federal research grants, for example, that were previously available only to Ph.D.-granting institutions.