Scientific advances in diverse fields ranging from stem cell research to nanotechnology pose challenging ethical questions. At the same time efforts to strengthen and broaden the U.S. workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are crucial to the long-term competitiveness of the national economy. This project examines the nexus of these two trends, assessing the extent to which and the manner by which ethical controversy affects the training of graduate students and their transition to the scientific workforce. To do so, the project combines qualitative interviews with early career scientists in contentious fields with a large longitudinal survey of graduate students currently enrolled in doctoral programs in STEM fields in the United States.
