The PSM is a relatively new graduate degree, just over a decade old, designed to provide students with advanced training in the sciences without a Ph.D. and pertinent business skills without an M.B.A. These programs also emphasize written and verbal skills in which employers say they find traditional science students deficient. Some examples of fields in which programs are emerging include bioinformatics, computational chemistry, environmental science and industrial mathematics. Currently, there are 171 professional science master’s programs at 71 institutions around the country.