I am a math professor. My first Ph.D. student got a job outside of academia and I was happy to support him fully and unreservedly.
But:
>students still come out with a very narrow window of extremely specialized knowledge
Duh.
>Additional courses in broader topics such as writing and business would also be beneficial (6).
Huh? This suggestion ignores the purpose of a Ph.D.: to produce a piece of original research, which is necessarily extremely specialized.
(And for that matter, if students in my Ph.D. program want to enroll in courses in business, writing, or anything else, they can.)
If students or employers want alternative degree programs, that is well and good, I encourage universities to begin offering them, and as a professor I would be quite happy to teach and advise such students.
But I see no reason to dilute Ph.D. programs, which continue to serve the purpose for which they were created.
But:
>students still come out with a very narrow window of extremely specialized knowledge
Duh.
>Additional courses in broader topics such as writing and business would also be beneficial (6).
Huh? This suggestion ignores the purpose of a Ph.D.: to produce a piece of original research, which is necessarily extremely specialized.
(And for that matter, if students in my Ph.D. program want to enroll in courses in business, writing, or anything else, they can.)
If students or employers want alternative degree programs, that is well and good, I encourage universities to begin offering them, and as a professor I would be quite happy to teach and advise such students.
But I see no reason to dilute Ph.D. programs, which continue to serve the purpose for which they were created.