How Does US STEM Higher Education Cultivate Global Competences Through Interdisciplinary Programs?

Abstract

In a knowledge-based society, STEM—or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—human resources are expected to move more fluidly in the global labor market due to their relevance to innovation. In this chapter, the global competencies (GC) required of STEM human resources are defined as skills to discuss diverse people, collaborate with them, and discover and solve problems. I proceed to examine whether STEM personnel have acquired these global competencies through university education and whether such GCs are related to their current profession. A survey of working professionals who studied university and graduate programs in STEM fields in Japan, the United States, and China was conducted. This chapter examines the US data in detail. An analysis of the responses of working professionals in their 30s and 40s in the United States shows how programs of US universities and graduate schools in the field of STEM incorporate global experience into the curriculum, regardless of the level of higher education institutions. The findings also indicate what higher education institutions provided during their school days and that such experience is relevant to the current global competencies of STEM graduates. I argue that STEM higher education is perceived to be highly correlated with innovation and new job creation in the twenty-first century. In addition, experiences of taking interdisciplinary courses of general education and study abroad can contribute to increasing global competence for STEM students who must take a systematic and in-depth curriculum to acquire expertise in their specialized fields.