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

The Council of Graduate Schools strongly supports President Obama’s call to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world while taking responsibility for our deficit and reforming government.  In his 2011 State of the Union message, the President charted a path forward that outlined strategic investments to create 21st century jobs and win the future for America.

“This is our generation’s Sputnik moment,” said the President.  The nation’s response to the original Sputnik in 1957 was the passage of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958 that produced a generation of scientists, engineers, and other leaders who laid the foundation for the economic success we experienced in the past half century.

While our nation today must make a similar investment in education at all levels, investment in graduate education is crucial.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2018 more jobs will require people with graduate degrees, specifically an 18% increase in jobs requiring a master’s degree and a 17% increase for people with doctoral degrees.  

Our competitiveness in the global economy hinges on our ability to produce sufficient numbers of graduate degree holders – people with the advanced knowledge and critical thinking abilities to address challenges we currently face as well as those we cannot even imagine today.

Governments around the world are investing in graduate education as a key component of innovation and competitiveness.  Europe already produces more doctorates in science and engineering than are produced in the U.S.  China and India are making substantial investments in their graduate education systems.

The President also addressed the issue of international talent – those students from other countries who come to the U.S. to pursue their graduate studies.  We strongly support immigration reforms that will enable international students who receive graduate degrees from U.S. institutions to remain after graduation and contribute to our economy. 

U.S. graduate education is a strategic national asset that must be supported as a key component of our research and innovation enterprise.  We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to craft policies that encourage more students to pursue and complete graduate degrees.