Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, said that many graduate programs admit students conditional on their achieving certain scores on the TOEFL or an equivalent exam. Those exams aren't available now in China and elsewhere, so graduate schools are working on other ways to evaluate students' English ability.

This page is designed to provide information on COVID-19 that may be relevant to your graduate programs and students. As this public health situation evolves, CGS may begin adding links to CGS member resources and communications.

April 15 Statement

• Click here to read CGS's update on how COVID-19 will impact the April 15 resolution.

Federal Agency Guidance (please note these are subject to updates/changes)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education with Students Participating in International Travel or Study Abroad Programs

Interim Guidance for Administrators of US Institutions of Higher Education

Department of Homeland Security:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Potential Procedural Adaptations for F and M Nonimmigrant Students

COVID-19: Guidance for SEVP Stakeholders

USCIS Temporarily Suspends Routine In-Person Services

Department of Education:

COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel

National Science Foundation:

Interim Guidance for Travel, Merit Review Panels, and NSF-Sponsored Meetings

RAPID Research on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Dear Colleague Letter (DCL)

NSF Supporting Research to Address Coronavirus Disease blog

National Institutes of Health:

General Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)- Proposal Submission and Award Management Related to COVID-19

University Responses

• APLU offers general guidance as well as a list of responses from its member institutions to the virus.

Additional Resources on International Issues

• NAFSA maintains a hub of news and information on education abroad, international students and scholars, and regulatory information.
• Educational Testing Service (click here for GRE and here for TOEFL), Cambridge English, IELTS maintain web pages with updates to information for international English and GRE test takers.

Additional Resources on Student Financial Aid Issues

• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) maintains information related to COVID-19 on their Today’s News page.

CGS COVID-19 Legislative and Regulatory Updates

This resource hub includes resources on federal legislative and regulatory actions related to COVID-19, in addition to highlighting letters CGS has signed requesting specific actions to Congress and the Administration.

• Summary of higher education and research provisions in the CARES Act
• Table of individual legislative proposals to address COVID-19

To submit a resource for consideration, please email Matthew Linton. 

Although data released by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) this month shows increased graduate applications and enrollments at U.S. universities for the first time since fall 2016, the Graduate Management Admissions Council’s (GMAC) most recent application trends report documents a steep 13.7% decline in international applications to American business programs from 2018 to 2019.

Supporting more than 4,000 students, UNLV Graduate College deployed Salesforce CRM in 2015 to streamline the admissions process across more than 155 programs, each with its own unique needs. From building personalized communications journeys for prospective students to optimizing case management and student funding, UNLV Graduate College’s phase-one work for recruitment and admissions has laid the groundwork for a comprehensive lifecycle CRM that will be the system of engagement for graduate and professional students. Register here to learn ways to leverage powerful marketing tools to create personalized journeys for prospects and admitted students, what is possible when CRM momentum spreads beyond recruitment and admissions to support student success, and how working with partners can streamline and accelerate your CRM implementation. Webinar sponsored by Salesforce.org.

Jaqui Falkenheim and Josh Trapani from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics at NSF will present the most recent data on graduate students from the Survey of Earned Doctorates and the Science and Engineering Indicators. They will address trends in enrollment and degree awards, student demographics (sex, race/ethnicity, citizenship), financial support patterns, and post-graduation employment, among other topics. These data include trends in the humanities and other non-STEM fields when available. They will also present some data on U.S. graduate education in global context. Additionally, the presentation will include information on how graduate deans can access NCSES reports and datasets.

Where does your institution stand with respect to national trends in international graduate student enrollment? Are other universities experiencing similar patterns, or is your university an outlier? This webinar provides an overview of the 2019 International Graduate Admissions survey results, and provide an opportunity for CGS members to share their questions and experiences. The broadcasting of this webinar presentation is sponsored in part by IELTS.

International graduate application and first-time enrollment rates have increased at U.S. universities for the first time since fall 2016, reported the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).

After two consecutive years of declines in international graduate student applications and first-time enrollments, U.S. institutions reported increases in both categories for 2019. That’s the key takeaway from a just-released survey of American graduate schools conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).

Andrew G. Campbell of Brown University to Serve as Chair of CGS Board (12/9/2020)

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) Board of Directors has announced its officers for the 2021 term. CGS is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors drawn from member institutions. Board members serve set terms.

CGS Recognizes 2020 Congressional Champion Award Recipients, Rep. Annie Kuster and Rep. Rodney Davis (12/2/2020)

Today, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) recognized Representative Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Representative Rodney Davis (IL-13) with their inaugural Congressional Champion Award during CGS’s 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting, held virtually December 2-4. Granted to two bipartisan members of Congress, the award acknowledges the remarkable contributions each has made toward advancing graduate education in the federal arena. “We are extremely grateful for Congressman Davis’ and Congresswoman Kuster’s ongoing support for graduate students,” said Suzanne T. Ortega, CGS president. “Each demonstrates a commitment to increasing access to graduate education, which benefits individuals from communities across the country and ensures we have a workforce armed with the knowledge and skills to ignite innovation and find solutions to today’s challenges.”

Minority Graduate Students Remain Substantially Underrepresented in Graduate Education, Particularly in STEM Fields (10/15/2020)

Graduate degree holders representing diverse backgrounds will play a key role in driving innovation and discovery in the U.S. workforce, and new data from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) on graduate enrollments and degrees provide a revealing snapshot of the country's progress in meeting these demands. According to a CGS report released today, graduate applications were flat (-0.6%) and first-time graduate enrollment (2.5%) increased overall for the Fall 2019 semester. While graduate schools reported  overall increases in the first-time enrollment of minority students between Fall 2018 and Fall 2019 (Latinx +5.7%, Black/African American +5.5%, Asian +5.3%, and American Indian/Alaska Native +3.5%), students from these demographic groups remain substantially underrepresented as percentage shares of the graduate student population, particularly in STEM fields. These data are part of the latest CGS/GRE Graduate Enrollment & Degrees: 2009-2019 report.

CGS Expands Research & Partnership Network to Support PhD Career Pathways (8/19/2020)

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced a new phase in its efforts to understand and support diverse PhD career pathways. A significant grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF #2000750) will allow CGS to examine factors likely to impact retention and persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers, particularly for underrepresented students.  Meanwhile, a previously-announced grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will seek to uncover both challenges and decision-making factors at points of career transition for Humanities PhDs.

CGS Takes Action to Protect Pathways to Graduate Schools for Underrepresented Graduate Students during COVID-19 (8/06/2020)

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) announced a new project to examine the obstacles underrepresented students (URM) have faced in their matriculation, persistence, and completion of STEM graduate programs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With funding from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Rapid Response Research (RAPID) program, CGS will collaborate with the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools (CHBGS) to understand challenges currently faced by URM and first-generation students and provide just-in-time information that will help support their success.

CGS Applauds SCOTUS Decision to Uphold DACA (6/19/2020)

On June 18, in a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court deemed the Trump Administration’s move to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unlawful. CGS applauds the high court’s ruling to uphold DACA, which will provide immediate relief for the over 650,000 individuals who have DACA status (“Dreamers”). 

CGS Calls for Action to End Racism and Injustice (6/03/2020)

Recent days and weeks have brought us heart-wrenching reminders of race-based inequality and injustice. In addition to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on students of color and their families, we have witnessed appalling acts of racism and violence toward African Americans—most recently George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade—acts that cause further distress and fear among communities already suffering. The CGS Board of Directors condemns both the deeply embedded and structural forms of racism and injustice we see around us as well as their most immediate manifestations. We also stand in solidarity with people of color in our community as they confront painful examples of violence and injustice.

CGS Statement on Graduate Admissions during the COVID-19 Pandemic (5/08/2020)

In mid-April, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) received a letter from student body presidents and leaders at 157 universities requesting formal acknowledgment of the “unprecedented challenges undergraduates have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic” and recognition of a set of principles regarding admissions policies. In response, CGS released the following statement on graduate admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CGS and PERVADE to Convene Thought Leaders on Ethical Issues in Big Data Research (2/25/2020)

Today the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) announced a partnership with the University of Maryland’s PERVADE: Pervasive Data Ethics to identify ways to enhance and influence the training graduate students receive when using big data methods in their research. The project, which will convene thought leaders from the big data ethics community and graduate deans from research-intensive institutions, has received funding support from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Research Integrity (ORI) and Elsevier.

International Graduate Application and Enrollment Rates Increase at U.S. Institutions After Two Consecutive Years of Decline (2/12/2020)

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has published new data showing that international graduate application and first-time enrollment rates have increased at U.S. universities for the first time since Fall 2016. For Fall 2019, the final application counts from prospective international students increased by 3%, and the first-time enrollment of international graduate students increased by 4%. The proportion of first-time international graduate enrollment in master’s and certificate programs (75%) vs. doctoral programs (25%) has remained roughly the same.