But enrollments in associate and master’s degree programs each sank by 21 percent. Enyu Zhou, a senior analyst at the Council of Graduate Schools, said her organization’s research found that first-time master’s students were more likely than doctoral students to defer admission last fall rather than begin their studies online.

“It’s clear to me that the increase in the number of students pursuing part-time degrees is an indicator of folks looking for flexibility in when and how they access graduate education,” said CGS president Dr. Suzanne Ortega. “We don’t have the data specifically on enrollment in online programs, but we know that the areas where there’s growth in master’s and part-time are often delivered virtually.” 

"One of the positive aspects of the pandemic and our age of uncertainty is that graduate programs have gotten much better at flexibility and capacity to accommodate working adults on a part-time basis and online," said Suzanne Ortega, CGS’s president. "That had been starting to happen over time, but I think it has really accelerated over the past year."

That leaves deferral as the only option. More Iranian doctoral students deferred admission last year than students from any other country, a survey by the Council of Graduate Schools found.

The CGS–JED report identifies challenges faced by graduate students, such as poor mentorship, the inability to access counselling services and a lack of training for non-academic careers. It also urges university administrators and members of campus communities to improve mental-health support services, revise leave-of-absence policies, and provide mentorship training for faculty members.

However, many universities and physics departments lack comprehensive resources and infrastructure to help their students make that transition. A 2017 report by the Council of Graduate Schools found that only around 60% of institutions had formal professional development programs designed to help prepare graduate students for nonacademic careers.

Appeals for improved diversity and inclusion in higher education are often rooted in moral and political terms: We must expand access to college for underrepresented groups so that they have equal opportunities to benefit from postsecondary degrees. These claims are important. Often overlooked, however, is the economic value of diversifying colleges and universities. According to McKinsey’s Diversity Matters report, “Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.”

Institutions and faculty engaged with equity in graduate education adopted holistic review practices championed by many institutions and organizations, including the University of Washington, Columbia University and the Council of Graduate Schools. As early as May 2020, universities such as Cornell University began talking about holistic review practices in graduate admissions in response to COVID-19.

“Supporting Graduate Student Mental Health and Well-being: Evidence-Informed Recommendations for the Graduate Community” is the result of a 22-month project that began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unquestionably the pandemic has led to additional stress and impact to mental health, which is taken into consideration.

“We were already knowing there were rising concerns about graduate student mental health and well-being,” said Dr. Suzanne Ortega, president of CGS. “What we rapidly learned is that COVID, the police killings, the anti-Blackness waves have really amplified the stress that people were feeling.”

A new report from the Council of Graduate Schools and the Jed Foundation now finds that while graduate students face unique mental health and well-being challenges, they are underrepresented in research and in campus messaging. One recent study suggested that one-third of graduate students report symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression. But in a CGS and Jed survey of institutions, only 58 percent said they had a model, framework or plan to promote the mental health and well-being of graduate students.