You are on CGS' Legacy Site.
Thank you for visiting CGS! You are currently using CGS' legacy site, which is no longer supported. For up-to-date information, including publications purchasing and meeting information, please visit cgsnet.org.
Innovation in Graduate Admissions through Holistic Review
- Holistic Review in Graduate Admissions: A Report from the Council of Graduate Schools
- CGS Webinar: Holistic Review in Graduate Admissions (February 2016)
Identifying talented students poised to succeed is the first step in building a strong graduate program. Graduate schools invest considerable resources and apply different methods to determine who among their applicants represents the best fit with the program. Holistic review of individual applicants includes non-cognitive and personal attributes, which some have also correlated with increasing access to graduate education and improving the success rates of master’s and doctoral students.
Implementing holistic review processes across all graduate programs can be challenging, however, due to the perception that it introduces new time burdens and inefficiencies. A recurring discussion among graduate deans is how to encourage programs and departments to engage in the review of a broader range of admissions criteria, rather than focusing simply on one or two indicators of potential student success. Innovations in graduate applications and enrollment management present an opportunity for graduate schools to collaborate with faculty to advance more comprehensive and thoughtful admissions processes to strengthen graduate programs.
Project Goals
With support from Hobsons, CGS launched a preliminary one-year study to better understand current holistic graduate application processes. CGS garnered input from its member institutions to explore the current state of holistic graduate admissions processes, future trends, and implications of new technologies for achieving improvements in graduate admissions and student success rates.
Press Releases
New Report Highlights Promise of Holistic Graduate Admissions to Increase Diversity
Resources
CGS has compiled helpful resources for institutions, deans, and program directors seeking more information about solutions and challenges in holistic graduate admissions. Because few resources currently exist on graduate schools’ admissions criteria and processes, this list includes resources for professional programs as well.
Contacts
In collaboration with:
CGS is the leading source of information, data analysis, and trends in graduate education. Our benchmarking data help member institutions to assess performance in key areas, make informed decisions, and develop plans that are suited to their goals.
CGS Best Practice initiatives address common challenges in graduate education by supporting institutional innovations and sharing effective practices with the graduate community. Our programs have provided millions of dollars of support for improvement and innovation projects at member institutions.
As the national voice for graduate education, CGS serves as a resource on issues regarding graduate education, research, and scholarship. CGS collaborates with other national stakeholders to advance the graduate education community in the policy and advocacy arenas.
CGS is an authority on global trends in graduate education and a leader in the international graduate community. Our resources and meetings on global issues help members internationalize their campuses, develop sustainable collaborations, and prepare their students for a global future.
