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Hironao Okahana, Assistant Vice President, Research & Policy Analysis, CGS
Enyu Zhou, Education Research Analyst, CGS

A large majority of graduate students in the United States pursue master’s degrees. According to the most recent CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees (GE&D), more than twice as many applications for admission were submitted to master’s programs than doctoral programs, and four out of five first-time graduate students enrolled in Fall 2016 were enrolled in programs leading to a master’s degree or a graduate certificate. Furthermore, the large majority (83%) of degrees awarded in 2015-16 were master’s degrees, while the share of doctoral degrees was 11% and graduate certificates was 6.2%. The sheer size of the student body and degrees awarded make master’s education a critical part of the graduate education enterprise that affects institutional missions, enrollment models, and financial planning across different sectors of higher education. This article highlights several results from the most recent GE&D survey that pertain specifically to master’s education.

Application & First-time Enrollment

The volume of applications for admission to master’s programs continues to increase. Between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016, applications for admission to master’s/other programs increased 1.4%, which was a larger rate of growth than that of doctoral applications (0.8%). Over the last ten years, between Fall 2006 and Fall 2016, master’s applications grew on average by 7.0% each year, while doctoral applications only grew by 3.3% annually. Also on average, first-time graduate enrollment in master’s programs grew by 3.1% annually between Fall 2011 and Fall 2016, compared to 2.7% in first-time doctoral enrollment.

Figure 1 shows the trends in first-time master’s enrollment by broad field of study for the decades spanning Fall 2006 to Fall 2016. The increases in first-time master’s enrollments have been particularly large in business, health science, engineering, and mathematics and computer sciences. Though it is a smaller field of study in comparison, biological & agricultural sciences continues steady growth in first-time enrollment. The first-time enrollment in education master’s programs remains the second largest broad field of study, despite the sharp drop in first-time enrollment in the early 2010s. In addition, first-time enrollment in education master’s programs appears to be slowly rebounding from previous declines (since Fall 2013).

On the other hand, the first-time enrollment in arts and humanities master’s programs has slowly declined since Fall 2009. It also appears that the growth in mathematics & computer sciences has slowed down significantly, and first-time enrollment in engineering master’s programs has flattened in recent years. These two fields of study enroll many international students—61% and 56% of first-time master’s and doctoral students in Fall 2016. Given the current policy and political climate surrounding Optional Practical Training (OPT) and H-1B visa programs, this is an area that may warrant continued attention from the graduate education community.

Women comprised a larger majority (59%) of first-time enrollment at the master’s level than at the doctoral level (53%) in Fall 2016. In particular, more than three out of four first-time master’s students in health sciences (79%), public administration and services (79%), and education (76%) were women. In contrast, women comprised a minority of the students in master’s programs in engineering (26%), mathematics and computer sciences (36%), and physical and earth sciences (46%). However, the percentage shares of women in mathematics and computer sciences and physical and earth sciences were much greater in comparison to doctoral programs (27% and 36%, respectively). This indicates that in these fields, master’s programs play an important role in facilitating women’s participation in the advanced STEM workforce.

Total Master’s Enrollment & Degrees Conferred

Nearly three out of four (74%) graduate students at the institutions that participated in the Fall 2016 GE&D survey were in master’s programs. In fields such as business (94%), public administration and services (93%), education (79%), and mathematics and computer sciences (78%), the share of master’s students was particularly robust. It is not surprising that more than nine out of ten (94%) graduate students at Master’s Colleges and Universities were enrolled in master’s programs. However, it is noteworthy that about three out of four graduate students at Doctoral Universities with Moderate Research (77%) and Higher Research (75%) were also master’s students. Furthermore, even at Doctoral Universities with Highest Research activity, 63% of all graduate students in Fall 2016 were pursuing master’s degrees.

Similarly, more than four out of five (83%) graduate degrees and certificates awarded between 2015-16 at the institutions that participated in the Fall 2016 GE&D survey were master’s degrees. This compares to 11% for doctoral degrees and 6.2% for graduate certificates. Not surprisingly, 90% of graduate degrees and certificates awarded at Master’s Colleges and Universities were master’s degrees. However, more than eight out of ten graduate degrees and certificates conferred by Doctoral Universities with Highest Research (80%), Higher Research (81%), and Moderate Research (84%) were also master’s degrees. These enrollment and degrees data reinforce the idea that master’s education is an integral part for all sectors of the graduate education enterprise.

Institutions participating in the Fall 2016 GE&D survey reported a 3.2% increase in the number of master’s degrees awarded between 2014-15 and 2015-16, compared to the 2.7% growth in doctoral programs. The increase was particularly robust at Doctoral Universities with Moderate Research (8.2%), although, these institutions also reported a high rate of increase in the number of doctoral degrees awarded (7.0%). Interestingly, the number of doctoral degrees awarded by Doctoral Universities with Higher Research decreased by 6.2% between 2014-15 and 2015-16, while the number of master’s degrees awarded remained virtually flat (0.8%). The increases in the number of master’s degrees awarded between 2014-15 and 2015-16 were particularly robust in biological and agricultural sciences (15%), health sciences (14%), and engineering (12%). However, numbers declined in arts and humanities (-3.7%) and social and behavioral sciences (-0.3%).

Discussion

Master’s education encompasses a wide range of programs and fields of study. It is a segment of the graduate education enterprise that is difficult to analyze given the diversity of students it serves and the workforce needs it aims to address. Nevertheless, as the only national data source that captures comprehensive application, enrollment, and degrees data on master’s degrees in all fields, the GE&D survey offers valuable insight into the graduate education community. These insights are meant to help advance campus-level conversations that will lead to innovative, responsive, and distinctive approaches in master’s education.

The U.S. workforce needs more master’s degree holders, but graduate programs will need to closely align their curriculum to offer skills and competencies needed for graduates to be successful. The CGS Master’s Committee has developed the Alignment Framework, a model that provides a roadmap for graduate deans and institutional leaders to create workforce-ready high-quality master’s programs that can best serve their region, state, and beyond. In addition, CGS, in partnership with Educational Testing Services, has launched an investigation of master’s admissions practices titled Master’s Admission Attributes: Current Status and Missing Evidence. Through four regional focus groups, the project will attempt to connect master’s admission criteria to outcomes and competencies and inform future admissions practices.

Beyond these projects, CGS encourages the robust exchange of ideas and promising practices surrounding master’s education among our member deans. At the upcoming Annual Meeting, there will be a pre-meeting workshop session that focuses on master’s enrollment management, as well as several concurrent sessionsthat focus on master’s topics. In the meantime, we encourage our members to take advantage of the Dean’s Discussion Board to pose questions and/or share insights with fellow graduate deans on this topic.

The full report of the most recent CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees, Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2006-2016, is available online. For questions regarding the report and this article, please contact Enyu Zhou, CGS education research analyst. For inquiries regarding CGS Master’s Projects, please contact Robert M. Augustine, CGS senior vice president.

Matthew Schwartz, a master’s student in the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, realized many of his clients were having difficulty accessing food pantries. As a case manager for the Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County, Schwartz noticed the requirements to utilize food pantries were often things food insecure people might not have. Some food pantries require a state-issued form of identification, official documentation of financial need, and some will only help people who live in designated zip codes. In addition, available transportation and limited hours can greatly limit people’s ability to get the food they need.

Schwartz decided to step in and find a way to make food more accessible. Along with the local Jewish community, the United Church of Christ, and other case managers, Schwartz founded Food Gnomes, a mobile food pantry serving the Greater Buffalo Area. In addition to being stocked with food, each car is a mobile information center with details on housing and shelters, domestic violence programs, job and career training, educational opportunities, and more. Each driver is a local case manager able to provide assistance and referral to local services.

“We really believe in having an impact by answering the needs as the community states them, not what we think they are,” Schwartz says. “We only have one question: Are you hungry? If the answer is yes, then we feed you.” To learn more about Matthew’s work, visit the University at Buffalo 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: Nancy J. Parisi, University at Buffalo Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461.3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

New Council of Graduate Schools publication highlights effective strategies and best practices

Washington, DC – The next generation of faculty will be better prepared to help their students learn, thanks to a new Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) report released today. Strategies to Prepare Future Faculty to Assess Student Learning is the product of a three-year project to identify models for infusing undergraduate learning assessment skills into existing Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) programs. With support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Teagle Foundation, and in collaboration with seven funded institutions and 19 affiliates, the project involved nearly 1,300 graduate students and 200 faculty across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Knowing how to assess whether students are learning – and what they’re learning – is key to advancing the quality of U.S. higher education. Yet learning assessment is typically a topic to which faculty have little or no exposure until they actually begin their faculty careers. By that time, they are busy trying to publish, obtain research funding, and keep up with their teaching responsibilities. Evaluation of student learning outcomes may take a backseat to these other important activities, unless faculty are already prepared and possess the skills to execute high-quality learning assessments.

CGS President Suzanne Ortega commented that “Our long-term goal is to help universities fully integrate learning assessment skills into the majority of professional development programs for graduate students interested in faculty careers. Ultimately, we hope to build a cadre of new faculty who will become champions for undergraduate teaching and learning.”

The report outlines a core set of assessment skills and competencies, and common tactics for integrating these skills into existing professional development programs. Innovative strategies such as “flipping” the classroom (having students watch lectures at home and participate in active learning discussions in class), using audience response systems (or “clickers”) to engage students, and conducting “teaching-as-research” projects are just a few examples of the practices in use at universities.

CGS partnered with seven institutions: Cornell University; Harvard University; Indiana University; Michigan State University; North Carolina A&T State University; University of California, Merced; and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as 19 affiliate partners. The project built upon more than two decades of CGS partnerships for preparing future faculty.

An Executive Summary is freely available for download. The full report can be purchased online.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461.3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Data Indicate Increasing Number of Graduate Certificates Awarded
 

Washington, DC — Today the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported continued growth in total graduate enrollment, first-time enrollments, number of applications, and degrees conferred at U.S. universities in its report, CGS/GRE Graduate Enrollment & Degrees: 2006-2016. The majority of growth in Fall 2016 continues to be in programs leading to master’s degrees, which comprise 82.5% of degrees awarded in 2015-16. In addition, the number of graduate certificates awarded by institutions participating in the survey increased by 11.8% between 2014-15 and 2015-16, suggesting that a growing number of students see the value in these micro-credentials.

“The consistent growth in applications, first-time enrollment, and degrees conferred in programs leading to master’s degrees indicates that graduate education is meeting the increasing workforce demand for advanced degree holders. The unemployment rates are lower for advanced degree holders. More and more jobs are requiring a higher skill level, and graduate education is adapting to meet those needs, as evidenced by the increase in graduate certificates,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega.

For the second year in a row, all underrepresented minority (URM) groups monitored by the survey saw greater increases in first-time graduate enrollment than their White, non-Hispanic counterparts, even though their overall representation in the graduate student body remains relatively low. Among first-time U.S. citizens and permanent resident graduate students in the Fall of 2016, approximately 23.4% were underrepresented minorities, including American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%), Black/African American (11.8%), Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (0.2%), and Hispanic/Latino (10.9%).  The one-year rate of change in first-time graduate enrollment for most URM groups was greater than its respective five-year and ten-year average percentage change.

“I’m cautiously optimistic at the continued increase in overall first-time enrollments for underrepresented minorities,” said Ortega. “However, URMs remain proportionally underrepresented. We still have a lot of work to do to ensure this is a sustained trend across graduate programs and leads to a more diverse workforce.”

This year’s survey results show first-time graduate enrollment of international students decreased 0.9% between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016. It is the first decrease since 2003, though the five-year average annual increase (7.8%) and ten-year average annual increase (7.4%) rates remain high. In contrast, first-time graduate enrollment for U.S. citizens and permanent residents increased 3.2%. Conversely, the total graduate enrollment increased by 2.4% for international students and decreased by 0.1% for U.S. citizens and permanent residents over the same Fall 2015-2016 period.

For the fifth consecutive year, institutions responding to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees for Fall 2016 reported increases in first-time graduate enrollment (522,131). More than one half of those first-time graduate students were women (58.1%). New highs for the application and admission cycle were also achieved, with institutions receiving more than 2.2 million applications and extending over 903,000 offers of admission in Fall 2016 for graduate students in graduate certificate, education specialist, master’s, or doctoral programs.

Other report findings are summarized below. 

Findings by Broad Field

• By broad field of study, the largest number of total applications for Fall 2016 were in engineering (322,120), business (277,060), and health sciences (276,886). Business (83,391), education (80,274), and health sciences (64,519) were the three largest broad fields of first-time graduate enrollment in Fall 2016.
• By broad field of study, the largest one-year increases in graduate applications occurred in the fields of mathematics and computer sciences (5.5%), physical and earth sciences (5.0%), business (3.2%), and biological and agricultural sciences (3.1%).
• Consistent with recent trends, graduate applications in arts and humanities decreased 6.2% between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016.
• First-time graduate enrollment in education increased both at the master’s level (2.3%) and the doctoral level (3.0%) between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016.
• In Health Sciences, there has been a robust increase in awards of both master’s degrees (13.7%) and doctoral degrees (9.5%) between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Findings by Degree Level

• The large majority of all first-time graduate students in Fall 2016 were enrolled in programs leading to a master’s degree or a graduate certificate (83.4%).
• The number of graduate certificates awarded by institutions participating in the survey increased by 11.8% between 2014-15 and 2015-16.
• At the doctoral level, health sciences (12.1%) had the largest one-year increase in the number of applications of all broad fields of study. At the master’s/other level, mathematics and computer sciences (8.4%) reported the highest one-year percentage increase.

Findings by Student Demographics

• Among first-time U.S. citizens and permanent resident graduate students in the Fall of 2016, about 23.4% were underrepresented minorities.
• Particularly notable among underrepresented minorities was that for two consecutive years, first-time graduate enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native increased (5.4% between 2014-15 and 2015-16, and 3.4% between 2013-14 and 2014-15).
• In Fall 2016, the majority of first-time graduate students at all degree levels were women – 58.9% at the master’s degree and certificate level and 52.8% at the doctoral level.
• International students comprised the largest share of first-time graduate students in mathematics and computer sciences (60.7%), followed closely by engineering (55.7%).

About the report

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2006 to 2016 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, which includes responses from 625 institutions, presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for Fall 2016, degrees conferred in 2015-16, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods.

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Lauren Forrest, a doctoral student in psychology at Miami University of Ohio, is on a mission to help U.S. military veterans through her research to identify risk factors related to suicide and self-injury. According to the Veterans Administration, “Veterans accounted for 18% of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults in 2014.” Although a lot of research is being done to better understand why this happens, Forrest argues that a new approach to risk factors is needed.

You know the five major senses (taste, sight, touch, smell, and hearing); but you probably haven’t heard of interoception, a part of the sensory system that manages sensations inside your body. Knowing when you’re hungry, if your breathing is heavier, or your heart rate is fast are all functions processed by your brain through interoception. Forrest hypothesizes that people who don’t adequately process these sensations could be more likely to self-harm, particularly for individuals with a high tolerance for pain and fear.

Forrest recently received a grant to complete her study from the Military Suicide Research Consortium, a testament to the potential impact to the military community, but her research could have much broader implications. “Suicide and non-suicidal self-injury are really huge public health problems with very significant consequences,” says Forrest. To learn more about Lauren’s work, visit the Miami University of Ohio 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: Lauren Forrest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461.3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Council of Graduate Schools Releases Learning Outcomes, Assessment Tools, and Best Practices for Deans

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) released new recommendations for educating graduate students on the ethical conduct of research in international collaborations. The report, Research Ethics Education in Graduate International Collaborations, represents the culmination of three years of collaborative research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF #1135345). In addition to recommendations for deans, the report includes a set of learning outcomes for doctoral students, case studies based on successful programs, and an online repository of assessment tools.

“In recent years we’ve seen more and more graduate students participating in international collaborative research. These exchanges are vital to the advancement of science and creation of new knowledge,” said Suzanne Ortega, CGS President. “At the same time, however, we recognize that ethical norms and regulations vary a great deal across cultures. Graduate deans must prepare their students to navigate these challenges and conduct responsible research, and this report will help them achieve that goal.”

In order to collaborate successfully, students need to learn about research protocols, professional expectations, and scholarly standards in other cultures, and develop the reasoning skills they will need to respond to ethical conflicts as they arise. Most research training programs, however, typically do not cover international issues. CGS sought to address this need by developing valid and replicable models for integrating international issues into research ethics education programs.

The report included two surveys of graduate deans and students at four universities. The student survey was conducted in 2013 and 2015, and gathered information on graduate student awareness of research ethics and participation in training. Findings showed that student awareness and participation increased from 2013 to 2015, for both STEM and non-STEM students.

Surveys of deans revealed a number of common strategies for conducting research ethics education activities and assessing student learning. The learning outcomes, which are available online on the CGS website, span a variety of knowledge and skill areas as well as professional attitudes that students should foster in order to be successful.

To produce the report, CGS partnered with four institutions: Emory University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Oklahoma, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, as well as six affiliate partners. The project built upon prior CGS work with the Project for Scholarly Integrity, which developed multi-disciplinary graduate education programs in the responsible conduct of research, and a 2008 Global Summit of university leaders focused on research ethics.

The report is available free of charge on the CGS website.

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Multiyear CGS-TIAA Research Initiative on 15 College Campuses Finds High Quality Financial Education Programs Effective

Press contacts:

Julia Kent
202-461-3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Leslie Sepuka
888-200-4062 / media@tiaa.org

WASHINGTON, DC (November 15, 2016) –  Research conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) in conjunction with TIAA, a leading financial services provider, found that 60 percent of master’s students and 55 percent of doctoral students report feeling stressed about their finances. While most students were able to make ends meet, 38 percent of master’s students and 36 percent of doctoral students worry about meeting their monthly expenses.

The majority of students surveyed reported having no exposure to financial education, and fewer than one-third are aware of any financial education programs available at their institution. However, graduate students are at an optimal stage of life to receive financial education, as high-quality financial education can impact degree completion rates, address concerns about educational loan debt, and help increase diversity in academia.

Despite concerns about making ends meet, when offered the choice, surveyed students indicated they are most eager to learn about more complex and longer term financial topics such as investing, selecting employee benefits, and retirement planning.  This finding indicates that university financial education programs may be most successful when they are tailored to the needs and interests of the graduate student population.

The findings are from research conducted with 13,000 graduate students as part of a three-year collaboration among CGS, TIAA and more than 30 leading universities. Fifteen universities received grants to ensure a successful project launch, including research to inform campus program development to directly engage students. An additional 19 universities participated as affiliates in the program on a self-funded basis. The program showed that with relatively modest investments, universities can leverage their expertise in teaching and training, tap into existing campus resources, and address their students’ unique needs and preferences for learning— something they already do every day as educational institutions.

Key lessons and data from this groundbreaking program are available in a new report: “Financial Education: Developing High Impact Programs for Graduate and Undergraduate Students,” available on the CGS website.

“Graduate education has long been one of the drivers of our nation’s economic strength and vitality. At a time when global competition is only increasing, it’s vital that the U.S. remain committed to maintaining its leadership in graduate education,” said Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO of TIAA.  “Central to this is ensuring students have the tools and resources they need – like those which came from this program – to pursue advanced degrees without sacrificing their long-term financial security.”

“Financial education helps current and prospective graduate students make more informed decisions about their educational and career plans—from choosing degree programs, to deciding how much money to borrow, to evaluating job offers,” said Suzanne Ortega, president of CGS. “The innovations developed by our partner institutions showed that these programs are effective and needed.” 

Each program developed during the Enhancing Student Financial Education initiative used different tactics, tools and resources that would resonate with their student bodies. Some schools opted for traditional approaches to financial literacy, including offering seminars on managing mounting debt and saving for goals such as a car purchase during spring and fall orientations.

Other schools chose to use more non-traditional methods. Loyola University Chicago and Cornell University, for example, hosted versions of Discovery Channel’s game show “Cash Cab” where contestants fielded questions on issues like FAFSA and student loans. Winthrop University held a “tweet Night” in residence halls where students were able to live tweet with accounting, finance and economics professors. And the University of Kentucky hosted a public screening of the 2014 film Ivory Tower, which was followed by a panel discussion featuring experts in higher education and public policy.

The report identifies the most promising practices employed by each of the 15 participating schools to design results-driven financial education programs. Today, these practices and accompanying resources are available at http://studentfinancialsuccess.org/.

“This project has helped graduate schools and other university leaders better inform current and prospective graduate students about the value of advanced degrees as well as the financial options and implications of graduate study on debt and future earnings,” said Ron Pressman, Chief Executive Officer at TIAA. “Partnerships similar to the ones encouraged by this initiative can help ensure a future pipeline of students who are financially, as well as academically, prepared to consider graduate study.”

Through this project, CGS developed GradSense [gradsense.org], an interactive website designed to raise awareness among prospective and current graduate students about issues related to financing an advanced degree.

Research partners participating in Enhancing Student Financial Education ranged in graduate enrollment size and included a diverse mix of institutions:  Arkansas State University, Cornell University, Eastern Illinois University, Florida A&M University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Loyola University, Mississippi University, Ohio State University, University of Colorado System, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of South Florida, and Winthrop University.

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Karishma Bansal, a doctoral student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of New Mexico, and her colleagues made international news in June 2017 for their groundbreaking discovery: two supermassive black holes orbiting each other. Scientists have theorized this phenomenon was possible, but Bansal is the first to prove it. Over a 10-year period, UNM’s Dr. Gregory Taylor (Bansal’s mentor) and scientists from other universities took very fine measurements with a series of 10 radio telescopes located across North America. Bansal analyzed some of the data collected and demonstrated the orbital movement.

To give you some perspective, each supermassive black hole is the size of our entire solar system; they exist 750 million light-years from earth; and they move at about 4 million miles per hour. Supermassive black holes exist in the center of most large galaxies. As two galaxies began to collide, the two black holes began to orbit each other. Eventually (as in millions of years from now), the two black holes will probably merge.

Someday, billions of years from now, our galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy. Bansal’s research will help scientists better understand this process. To learn more about Karishma’s work, visit the University of New Mexico 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: C. Shell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT: Julia Kent 

202.461.3874 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

“We believe that the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects nearly 800,000 young, undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children, will hurt the American economy and our institutions of higher education. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), an organization of approximately 500 universities, recognizes and affirms the importance of constitutional order and the need to follow the rule of law. However, we also believe that the DACA program has allowed a group of exceptional young people, brought to this country by their parents, the opportunity to contribute to and positively impact our society and economy by serving in the U.S. military, attending college, entering the workforce and paying taxes. The strength of our nation’s graduate programs depends upon students from diverse backgrounds. To disrupt the lives of these young people is unconscionable and inconsistent with the moral values and basic principles upon which our country was founded.

Dreamers contribute significantly to our economy; according to a recent study by the CATO Institute, deporting those currently in DACA would cost over $60 billion in lost tax revenue and result in a $280 billion reduction in economic growth over the next decade. These bright and talented young people did not choose to come to this country, but America is the only home they know. We hope the U.S. Congress will work to find a permanent solution that allows these young people to stay. It is in our country’s best interest to do so.”

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