Introduction
to the IGERT Program
The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program,
initiated in 1997 and now comprising approximately 125 award sites, continues
into its sixth annual competition. The IGERT program has been developed to
meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists, engineers, and educators
with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines,
and technical, professional, and personal skills to become in their own careers
the leaders and creative agents for change. The program is intended to catalyze
a cultural change in graduate education, for students, faculty, and institutions,
by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in
a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional
disciplinary boundaries. It is also intended to facilitate greater diversity
in student participation and preparation, and to contribute to the development
of a diverse, globally-engaged science and engineering workforce.
IGERT is an NSF-wide endeavor involving the Directorates for Biological
Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering
(CISE), Education and Human Resources (EHR), Engineering (ENG),
Geosciences (GEO), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social,
Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE), the Office of Polar Programs
(OPP), and the Office of International Science and Engineering
(INT).
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