Fresenius' Journal of
Fresenius J Anal Chem (1993) 347:32-34
© Springer-Verlag 1993
Graduate studies in analytical chemistry P. Jandera
Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Chemical Technology, N~m. Legii 565, 53210 Pardubice, Czech Republic Received January 13, 1993
Summary. The system of graduate studies in the Czech Republic is at present subject to thorough structural changes with the aim to achieve an internationally recognized standard level. Programs of studies including advanced courses, seminars and the production of a thesis are worked out individually for each student and approved by the Council for Graduate Studies in Analytical Chemistry. Advisors are selected from the best senior members of faculty. To assure good quality of graduate studies, cooperation between the Departments of Analytical Chemistry at different universities is necessary, as well as coordination of the educational efforts between the departments of analytical, physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. Specific problems are addressed, such as the place of graduate studies in the system of research activities, the exchange of graduate students between various institutions to provide experience with unique instrumentation and the incorporation of graduate studies in the lifelong system of education in analytical chemistry.
Present state
The system of graduate studies in our country is presently subject to deep Structural changes, which are necessary to achieve an internationally recognized level for the doctoral degree. The transformation of graduate studies in analytical chemistry is connected with various problems, some of which are common to all fields of instruction; others are specific to graduate programs in the natural sciences which require the use of sophisticated and expensive modern instruments, a problem common to all fields of modern chemical analysis. The previous system of graduate studies, the so-called "scientific preparation", leading to the degree of "candidate of sciences" (considered equivalent to the doctoral degree), was based mainly on research work and thesis. In addition, only one year courses in Russian and English or German languages and in Marx-Leninism were required and no coursework was given in scientific disciplines. The final oral examinations, originally covering the selected topics of analytical, physical and organic or inorganic chemistry and later only some topics of analytical chemistry, were generally not much above the requirements for the master's degree. This structure of the graduate program inevitably led to a lower quality of graduate education in analytical chemistry than the more problem-oriented PhD programs at good universities in Western Europe and in the USA; here the
universities provide graduate PhD programs which require regular coursework at a more advanced level than that necessary for the master's degree, in addition to research and thesis. A comprehensive examination series needs to be successfully completed. For example, the PhD education in chemistry at some universities in the USA is efficient in developing the student's abilities to solve various research problems by himself or by herself. A series of cumulative written examinations is especially interesting and suitable to help to meet this objective. Each examination is based on a scientific paper published in a renowned journal, such as Analytical Chemistry. Each student is given a copy of the paper and is expected to answer a set of questions related to it. Some questions check the understanding of the theoretical principles and of the instrumental aspects of the work described; often some calculations need to be performed on the basis of the published data. The student is then asked to give his/her opinion about the quality of the work, to point out its merits for research in the field and discuss its possible weak points. Sometimes hints are given to help the discovery of hidden errors or questionable conclusions. In this way the student is led to critically evaluate the original scientific work and to develop a good professional scientific approach to the problem solving. Each student must present a paper on the results of his or her own research work at a departmental seminar several times during the pursuit of the PhD degree and is usually given the opportunity to present a contribution at a national or international conference before completing the graduate program. The student should also submit and defend a proposal for a research project on a topic different from the subject of his or her own research work. The objective is to prepare the student to be able to apply successfully for a research grant; this could also be useful in our country in the not too distant future. The graduate studies are concluded by submitting and defending the thesis. For many reasons, including budget restrictions and obsolete instrumental equipment at our universities and the limited number of graduate students, etc., it will not be easy to achieve a rapid improvement of the quality of graduate education in our country.
New model of graduate studies
The rules for the new model of graduate studies have been worked out at several universities and technical universities
33 to which the accreditation for graduate studies in analytical chemistry had been accorded. Fortunately the rules at the individual institutions differ only in minor details. A Board for Graduate Studies in Analytical Chemistry has been formed, consisting of the representatives of the individual departments of analytical chemistry accredited for graduate studies. A program of graduate studies, including advanced courses, seminars, research and thesis, is worked out for each student by his or her advisor, selected from the best senior members of the faculty. Each individual program is subject to approval by the Board for Graduate Studies. The studies generally take three years but can be prolonged; this would normally be without a stipend. Three to six advanced courses are foreseen in each individual graduate program in addition to the research work. Each course ends with an examination and usually takes place in the first two years of the studies. The courses are oriented both to the theoretical fundamentals in the field of education at the advanced level and to detailed studies in subdisciplines connected with the student's area of specialization. In advanced analytical chemistry, most importance is given to atomic and molecular spectroscopy, chromatographic and electrophoretic separation methods, electroanalytical chemistry and chemometry. A period of research work at another institution in Czechoslovakia, or possibly abroad, may form a part of the graduate program, to allow the student to become familiar with the organization of the research work using sophisticated instrumentation not available at the student's own university. Each student must present an oral communication, preferably in English, on his or her research work, prior to submitting the thesis. The graduate studies are completed by the final oral examination covering three selected fields and by submission and defense of the doctoral thesis. This system of graduate studies should be close to that in the West European countries and in the USA; however serious problems must be overcome to make it work in practice.
Specific problems of graduate studies in the Czech Republic At present there are only a small number of graduate students. The principal reason is that funding is presently provided mainly from the tight budgets of the universities. Some foundations are being created to offer stipends to outstanding students, but this obviously would be an exception rather than a rule. It is possible to pay the stipend from a grant of the advisor or of the department, but this way of financing can rarely be used at present, because of the lack of such grants. The situation may improve after a grant agency is established for funding research not only at the institutes of the Academy of Sciences, but also at the universities. It would not be easy for the academic staff of a department of analytical chemistry to run six or more advanced courses at a time (including regular lectures and seminars) just for one to five graduate students. Some specialized courses obviously have to rely on individual studies and consultation. Regular coursework on advanced fundamental theory and some interdisciplinary courses can be organized in cooperation with other departments for graduate students of analytical chemistry together with those specialized in other related fields, such as physical, organic or inorganic chemistry.
Some advanced graduate courses given by renowned experts should be made accessible also for graduate students from other universities. All graduate students should attend the seminars and lectures given by leading scientists in the field on various occasions at universities or research institutes in different cities. It surely would be possible to provide funds to cover the necessary travel expenses. Another major problem is the lack of sophisticated research instrumentation at Czech universities, where most instruments are obsolete or unavailable. To allow instrumental scientific work at a high level, cooperation is welcomed with chemical institutes of the Academy of Sciences and other research institutes and companies which have good analytical instruments; it should be possible to place some of the full-time graduate students to carry out their experimental research work. Conversely, interested workers from these institutions could attend the graduate courses as parttime students of the university. In the old system of graduate studies, the Academy of Sciences, in addition to the universities, was also entitled to educate workers pursuing the doctoral degree; this was in contrast to the organization of graduate studies in western countries. The proposed system of graduate studies in our country will not use other educational institutions outside the universities. A possible solution of this problem, from which both the Academy and the universities could profit, is to cooperate so that the important part of the graduate experimental work is carried out in the laboratories of the Academy and that the graduate courses are given both by the members of the faculty and by outstanding specialists from the Academy. The degree will be conferred by the university. If this is accepted, some reluctance should be overcome on both sides and some legal issues should be solved. At a number of departments of analytical chemistry, specialized postgraduate courses are or will be given for people wishing to refresh, improve and update their knowledge after several years of practical work, or for workers from laboratories which wish to get official accreditation. There is no doubt that graduate students could benefit from participation in such a course or in part of it. The necessary arrangements would cost almost nothing. If it is not possible for a graduate student to participate in the whole course, he or she may be encouraged to complete his or her knowledge after finishing the graduate studies in another postgraduate course of this type. This may be a way to incorporate graduate studies into the lifelong system of education in analytical chemistry.
Examples of cooperation in graduate studies in analytical chemistry 1. Interdisciplinary programs are worked out tailored to the specific needs of education. For example, a graduate student has been promised a job consisting of applying high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the research into new possibilities for the organic syntheses of dyestuffs and their intermediates. A special program of graduate studies has been worked out. A course in advanced aspects of high-performance liquid chromatography, such as advances in the theory of retention mechanism and the optimization of separation and advanced
34 instrumentation for HPLC, including principles of hyphenated techniques (HPLC-MS, HPLC-FTIR, etc.) will be given at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, while a course in the chemistry of dyestuffs at the Department of Organic Technology; a course about the relationships between the structure and reactivity of organic compounds will be given by the Department of Organic Chemistry. 2. Three graduate students from the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the University of Chemical Technology, Pardubice, have spent three to six months at the Departments of Analytical Chemistry of the Universities in Dublin, Ireland and Graz, Austria, to perform a part of their laboratory research work and to study the organization of scientific research. The results obtained there will be used in their dissertations.
3. For a number of years, several series of lectures on various advanced topics of analytical chemistry have been given as a part of the master's degree program in analytical chemistry (in the last, fifth, year of studies) by leading Czech experts in the field, coming from different universities, Academy of Sciences and research institutes. A part of the lectures is changed every year. It is obligatory for graduate students to attend the new parts of this series. 4. Four-term postgraduate studies in advanced analytical chemistry are being organized at the Pardubice Department of Analytical Chemistry. Graduate students must participate in part of the courses offered there. For example, the students specializing in chromatography will attend the courses on trace analysis, hyphenated techniques, derivatization and optimization of chromatographic separation.
