In creating the programs, Georgia Tech wanted a new science master's-level degree that "will allow really good students to stay in that discipline without going into something else," Smith said.
"He is in high demand," said Carlos Reynosa, coordinator of the forensic science master's program at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez.
Carol Lynch, director of the professional science master's program of the Council of Graduate Schools, estimates total P.S.M. enrollment around 5,000.
In 2008, 58 universities were offering the professional science master's degree, or P.S.M., according to the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington.
The degree of the moment is the professional science master's, or P.S.M., combining job-specific training with business skills.
Eduniversal ranks the program third among insurance, risk, and actuarial science master's programs worldwide.
"What I do know is that if they attract 5,000 students, I don't want to be doubling down on our computer science master's program," he said.
The number is certain to grow because the professional science master's degree is being adopted by at least six state university systems.
The professional science master's degree received an important imprimatur two years ago from a committee of the National Research Council, which inquired into ways to enhance the master's degree in the natural sciences.
Already, however, the subject matter of professional science master's curriculums differs widely (as does tuition, which ranges from a few thousand dollars a year to more than $20,000).
