Contact:
Belle Woods
bwoods@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Washington, D.C. (Tuesday, June 21, 2011) – Today, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, announced awards to five universities to participate in a study on completion and attrition in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) master’s programs.  The awardees will collect data on completion and attrition in STEM master’s degree programs, administer surveys to students, graduates, and those who do not complete their degrees, and conduct student focus groups.  Additionally, awardees will survey graduate program directors.  All of the data collected will allow stakeholders to better understand reasons for enrollment, factors that contribute to student success, and promising practices to improve completion. Insight gained from these activities can help ensure that U.S. graduate schools are preparing the necessary talent at the master’s level in STEM fields to meet the challenges of the 21^st century.

Five institutions were selected as Research Partners in CGS’ project on Completion and Attrition in STEM Master’s Programs and will each receive $30,000 in funding to participate.  These institutions reflect the breadth and depth of U.S. universities offering master’s programs.  The Research Partners, selected by an independent committee, are:

Loyola University Chicago

Purdue University

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

Texas A&M University

Wright State University

“A master’s degree in a STEM field often offers a clear pathway to professional employment and career success.  In this economy, more than ever, we need to better understand the factors affecting completion and attrition at the master’s level,” said Debra Stewart, CGS President.  “This will be the first study of its kind in the United States and we are delighted to work with these innovative graduate schools on this unique project.  The results of this study will be information essential to graduate deans as they foster student achievement in graduate education.”

Additional institutions will be invited to join in the research effort as unfunded Project Partners.  The study’s findings will be released in a monograph in 2013. Additionally, a decision will be made on whether an in-depth follow-up project on master’s completion and attrition is necessary. It is envisioned that a follow-up project would engage a much larger number of CGS member institutions to provide completion and attrition data, conduct surveys of entering students, graduates, and non-completers, and implement interventions that are designed to improve outcomes in master’s programs.