As a pediatric cancer survivor, Kelilah Wolkowicz knew she wanted to spend her life helping people. A recent PhD recipient in mechanical engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, Wolkowicz’s research focused on the co-creation of a robotic wheelchair as part of the Vehicles and Systems Group in Penn State’s College of Engineering.

The U.S. has approximately three million people who need wheelchairs to get around. Wolkowicz and other researchers were concerned with designing a robotic wheelchair that would meet the needs of those with a variety of mobility issues. “I’m hoping to improve the quality of life for them,” said Wolkowicz. “We don’t want a person to adapt to a wheelchair that exists; we want to create a wheelchair that adapts to the person.” The design includes sensors that utilize ultrasonic technology and can detect and avoid obstacles. In addition, the wheelchairs are outfitted with lasers that can map the surroundings and act as a GPS system, which could be especially helpful for patients with memory loss.

The robotic wheelchair prototype still needs work to minimize the requirements on the user, but Wolkowicz is confident the next team will make significant advances. Meanwhile she will be continuing her own work as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. “This is what I went to graduate school for,” Wolkowicz said. “I just really want to help people, especially in the medical field.” To learn more about Kelilah’s work visit the Penn State University website.

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Photo Credit: Erin Cassidy Hendrick/Penn State

Michael Mahoney, a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Master of Product Innovation program, is the epitome of an entrepreneur. One of his program requirements was to write about his experience in the field. He heard about Clipster, an accelerator program based in Poland, and thought it might be a good fit. “I contacted Clipster and convinced them to create a position for me, and it worked!” Mahoney said. “Nobody ever told me I could make up my own job, but that's essentially what I did. I even made up my title, International Partnerships Specialist, and it stuck.”

Clipster is a co-living program that offers workshops and mentoring to help entrepreneurs accelerate the launch of a new business. The community atmosphere with 3-month long retreats provides participants the opportunity to be completely immersed in their projects. Mahoney manages outreach to develop strategic funding partners to facilitate recruitment, programming, networking, and seed-stage funding.

“My main goal is trying to make the program more focused, and cohesive,” Mahoney said. “I want to create a funnel of quality, pre-screened applicants who have already taken part in pre-accelerator programs or have an existing business they want to grow.” To learn more about Mike’s work visit the Virginia Commonwealth University website.

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Photo Credit: Virginia Commonwealth University

PRESS RELEASE

EMBARGOED UNTIL:   October 3, 2018, 12:01 a.m. EDT

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg / (202) 461-3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — Today the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported that growth in first-time graduate enrollment remains flat, according to its most recent data, while the number of graduate applications to U.S. universities has decreased. Between Fall 2016 and Fall 2017, first-time graduate enrollment dropped by -0.1% and the number of applications for admission to U.S. graduate schools decreased -1.8%. Although the overall number of applications for admission declined, several broad fields of study saw increases, including business (4.5%), public administration and services (1.9%), education (1.8%), and mathematics and computer sciences (1.7%). The data is part of the latest CGS/GRE Graduate Enrollment & Degrees: 2007-2017 report.

Decrease in International Enrollments

First-time graduate enrollment for U.S. citizens and permanent residents increased 1.1% between Fall 2016 and Fall 2017. In contrast, first-time graduate enrollment of international students decreased -3.7%, but the five-year (4.7%) and ten-year average annual increase (5.6%) rates remain strong. Universities with an R1 Carnegie Classification, or highest research doctoral institutions, saw no negative impacts, posting a 3.0% increase between Fall 2017 and Fall 2017.

“The decrease in application and flat first-time enrollment rates are not unexpected given the robust economy and job market. After years of steady growth, the slow down aligns with typical cycles in the economy,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega. “What is worrisome, however, is the decline in the number of international students pursuing graduate education in the U.S. The 3.7% drop in first-time enrollment between Fall 2016 and Fall 2017 is the second consecutive decrease we’ve seen since 2003. While it is difficult to pinpoint what caused the decline, the current policy climate around U.S. visas and immigration may be a contributing factor.”

Enrollments Align with Fastest Growing Fields

Enrollment trends by broad field of study are consistent with last year. The largest one-year gains in first-time enrollment by broad field of study were in mathematics and computer sciences (3.8%) and business (3.7%) between Fall 2016 and Fall 2017. The largest five- and ten-year average (2012-2017) percent changes by broad field were in mathematics and computer sciences (12.8%, 12.1%) and the health sciences (4.0%, 6.9%). In contrast, the one-year change in first-time graduate enrollment in engineering was -3.8%, compared to -0.9% between Fall 2015-2016; engineering also posted the biggest application decline in the one-year period (-7.3%). These results are consistent with CGS’s International Graduate Applications and Enrollment: Fall 2017, indicating that the decline in engineering enrollment is largely driven by a decrease in international students.

“The continued growth in applications and first-time enrollment in the health sciences indicates graduate education is aligning with the increasing workforce demand for advanced degree holders,” said Ortega. “According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data on employment projections, many of the fastest growing fields are in mathematics and computer sciences and the health sciences, including physician assistants, occupational therapists, mental health and substance abuse social workers, mathematicians, and computer and information research scientists. These jobs all require at least a master’s degree for a typical entry-level position.”

Institutions responding to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees for Fall 2017 enrolled more than 1.8 million graduate students. Nearly three quarters (74.0%) of total graduate enrollment was in master’s programs. Over one million of those graduate students, or 57.9%, were women. Academic year 2016-17 marked the eighth consecutive year in which women earned the majority of degrees awarded. However, in many STEM fields, men still earned the majority of graduate degrees and certificates.

Other report findings are summarized below. 

Findings by Broad Field

• The three largest broad fields of study: business, education, and health sciences, were also the fields with the largest proportions of part-time graduate students.
• Graduate applications decreased in engineering (-7.3%), arts and humanities (-1.8%), physical and earth sciences (-0.6%), and biological and agricultural sciences (-0.4%) between Fall 2016 and Fall 2017.
• The largest one-year increases in graduate applications occurred in the broad fields of business (4.5%), public administration and services (1.9%), education (1.8%), and mathematics and computer sciences (1.7%).

Findings by Degree Level

• About 70% of the applications received for Fall 2017 were to master’s/other programs. The large majority of all first-time graduate students in Fall 2017 were enrolled in programs leading to a master’s degree or a graduate certificate (83.4%).
• The number of doctoral degrees awarded increased 1.7% and the number of master’s degrees awarded increased 4.6% between 2015-16 and 2016-17.
• The largest one-year percent increases in master’s degrees were in mathematics and computer sciences (13.6%), health sciences (4.7%), and “other fields” (4.7%).

Findings by Student Demographics

• In Fall 2017, approximately 23.9% of all first-time U.S. citizens and permanent resident enrollees were underrepresented minorities. American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino first-time graduate students remain particularly underrepresented in STEM fields.
• In Fall 2017, the majority of first-time graduate students at all degree levels were women – 59.2% at the master’s degree and certificate level and 53.5% at the doctoral level.
• Among first-time graduate enrollment, 79.7% were U.S. citizens and permanent resident graduate students in the Fall of 2017 and about 20.3% were international.
• International students comprised the largest share of first-time graduate students in mathematics and computer sciences (56.3%), followed closely by engineering (52.9%).

About the report

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2007 to 2017 presents the findings of an annual survey of U.S. graduate schools, co-sponsored by CGS and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board. It is the only annual national survey that collects data on graduate enrollment by all fields of study and is the only source of national data on graduate applications by broad field of study. The report includes responses from 619 institutions and presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for Fall 2017, degrees conferred in 2016-17, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods.

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Media Kit

FY 2019 Education, Research Funding and CR Enacted

On Friday, September 28, the President signed a two-bill spending package that includes the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Labor-HHS-Education and Defense measures, as well as a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the reminder of the government at FY 2018 levels through December 7. The House passed the measure by a vote of 361-61 on Thursday after the Senate had approved it last week. CGS signed onto a community letter in support of the legislation. CGS commends the bipartisan efforts of Congress to reach this deal.

Investments in higher education and research in the bill include:

• $39.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a $2 billion increase over the previous year
• $350 million for a short-term eligibility fix for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program
• $1.06 billion for TRIO programs which include the Robert McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Award
• $6,195 for the maximum Pell Grant award, an increase of $100
• $23 million for the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program
• $1.13 billion for Federal Work Study
• $65.1 million for international education and foreign language programs under Title VI and $7.06 million for Fulbright-Hays

To view proposed and enacted funding levels for CGS programs of interest in more detail, visit CGS’s FY 2019 Funding Chart.

A recent study published in Current Biology and covered in the New York Times and on CNN, estimated that from 1999 to 2015 more than 100,000 Bornean orangutans were lost due to natural resource extraction. Didik Prasetyo, a co-author of the study and doctoral student in the Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution at Rutgers University, is eager to learn more about the decline and find ways to conserve their habitats and populations.

Prasetyo’s general research interests focus on orangutan conservation and began when he mapped the genome of orangutans in a region of Borneo, Indonesia. He’s also studied their nesting behavior to better understand how they are structured to provide protection during the rainy season. His doctoral research, specifically, investigates the development of flanges in male orangutans. The flanges are enlarged, padded cheeks that frame the face and develop as orangutans mature and are associated with dominance. Some male flange development is slower than others, and Prasetyo wants to better understand why by studying the orangutans’ diet and hormone levels.

“Orangutans can adapt to different situations,” Prasetyo said. “When the forest changes from primary (old growth) to secondary (regenerated), they can adapt. Why not protect them in that forest and they can survive? We just need to make sure there’s no hunting.” To learn more about Didik’s work visit the Rutgers University website.

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Photo Credit: Erin R. Vogel/Rutgers University–New Brunswick

It’s been more than 550 years since the Great Plague, also known as the Black Death, resulted in the death of at least 100 million people in Eurasia and reduced the world’s population by roughly 20%. Even with all the biomedical advances and research, fundamental questions about one of the deadliest diseases remain unanswered. As a doctoral candidate at Colorado State University in biology, biosecurity and infectious diseases to be specific, David Markman hopes to provide some insight.

Markman’s research demonstrates the ability of the bacteria that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, to survive and multiply inside the single-celled amoeba commonly found in soil and water. Under normal circumstances, bacteria eaten by amoebae are destroyed. However, according to Markman, “there’s a growing catalog of bacteria that are found to be resistant to being digested by these amoebae.” The danger is the potential for these pathogens to be used as biological weapons. If Markman’s research proves the possibility, his next step will be research that focuses on how to stop it.

Markman has received numerous fellowships and scholarships, including from the U.S. Department of Defense. Once he completes his PhD, he hopes to work in bio-defense. “Combining science and business in an ethical and responsible way is something that really appeals to me,” Markman said. To learn more about David’s work visit the Colorado State University website, and read his paper “Yersinia pestis Survival and Replication in Potential Ameba Reservoir” for a deep dive into his research published in the CDC journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases.

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Photo Credit: Colorado State University

Madison Heslop, a doctoral student in history at the University of Washington, is on her way to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the academic year to research its history. As a 2018-2019 Fulbright Fellow, Heslop is interested in the connected histories of Vancouver and Seattle during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Located just 118 miles apart but in different countries, Vancouver and Seattle have some shared history.

For nine months, Heslop will be at the University of British Columbia working towards her dissertation project, which explores how the relationship between these two places developed. Specifically, she will examine these, “places where the various Pacifics of transpacific Asian migrants, Canadian and US officials, and a range of Indigenous peoples from the North American continent and Oceania bump up against one another.”

“I am thrilled by the opportunity a Fulbright Grant has offered me to develop an intimate familiarity with the lands and waters of Vancouver, both historical and contemporary, and to contribute to local communities there," Heslop said. To learn more about Madison’s work visit the University of Washington website or her personal website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: University of Washington

As a doctoral student in geology at Oregon State University, Ellen Lamont studies mountains. As a 2018 Fulbright scholarship recipient Lamont will be studying, conducting research, and teaching with the Himalayas as her backdrop. In Lamont’s words, “If I’m going to study mountains, I figured I might as well start with the crème de la crème of mountains, where it’s complicated and crazy and impressive and majestic!”

Lamont will collaborate with the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology for her research, sampling and mapping fault exposures in the foothills. Her work will specifically focus on how mountains are formed, and which geological force is most important: climate or tectonics. Lamont and her advisor, Dr. Andrew Meigs, believe the process will be better understood by studying the foreland of mountain ranges. “We think we can look at the foreland in a new way,” Lamont explained. “What we want to know is, when did the foreland grow, and how was growth divided among individual faults? When did the faults develop, in what order, and how do they vary spatially?”

By analyzing the timeline, Lamont hopes to find some answers. “If we see that the foreland has been developing more recently than the hinterland, we’ll know that tectonics is likely the dominant force. If it’s the other way around, climate is likely dominant,” Lamont said. To learn more about Ellen’s work visit the Oregon State University website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Oregon State

After an undergraduate course in gender studies, Lindsay Toman’s role as an LGBTQ advocate was cemented. Now a doctoral student in sociology at Wayne State University, Toman wants to better understand the relationship between health care providers and the LGBTQ community. She began hosting focus groups with participants from Corktown Health Center to assess how comfortable health care providers were with serving their LGBTQ patients.

“A lot of medical students who identify as LGBTQ started coming to my focus groups, which was indicative of a need in the space. The students seemed torn between the two identities. There are certain professional expectations on how doctors go about their day, which may not necessarily cater to LGBTQ individuals.” Toman used her research to create LGBTQ and You, a training manual to help health care providers understand the unique needs of their LGBTQ patients.

Toman recently received the Eugene V. Perrin Memorial Scholarship in Health and Science and Peace. She presented her research at the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Annual Meeting in August 2018. To learn more about Lindsay’s work visit the Wayne State University website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Christine Nyawag/Wayne State

As a member of the selective Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California, San Francisco, Theo Roth seeks out challenging problems. Roth is currently working on his doctorate in Biomedical Sciences as part of a dual MD/PhD program and researching new treatments for various cancers and other diseases. Roth’s recent research breakthroughs resulted in a first-authored paper in the July 19 issue of Nature and coverage in The New York Times.

Roth’s research focuses on the burgeoning field of genome editing. Research and experimentation with genome (or gene) editing is a relatively new phenomenon, and one that holds tremendous promise. Previous research focused on using viruses as carriers for the new genetic material, but that has a number of drawbacks, including difficulty pinpointing the exact spot for insertion. Roth and his co-authors, under the supervision of Alexander Marson, discovered a new way using electrical fields that speeds up the process and allows for more targeted delivery.

This research was arduous but rewarding. Roth made his discovery by running thousands of tests. "It took time and effort to get that pipeline up and running, but once it was, we could rapidly iterate through conditions, and focus in on the protocol alterations that were yielding greater numbers of live, correctly edited cells," Roth said. To learn more about Theo’s work visit the University of California, San Francisco website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Noah Berger/UCSF