First-time enrollment in graduate programs increased by 2.5 percent between fall 2018 and fall 2019 even while the number of applications to graduate programs dipped slightly, by 0.6 percent, according to a new survey conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools and the Graduate Record Examinations Board.

African Americans made up 12.1 percent of all first-time graduate enrollees in 2019. Yet African Americans were just 6.1 percent of all incoming graduate students at doctoral universities with very high research activities. This was only a slight improvement from 2009 when Blacks were 5.3 percent of total first-time enrollments in graduate programs at these research universities.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461-3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Graduate Applications Flat, First-time Enrollment on the Rise Overall
 

Washington, DC — 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.

“The growth in first-time enrollment rates for a second year, along with the continued increases in first-time enrollment among Latinx, Black/African Americans, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and American Indian/Alaska Natives graduate students are encouraging,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega. “But we still have so much work to do. I’m particularly concerned about the disproportionate economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on underrepresented minorities (URM). The modest gains the U.S. has seen over the past ten years in URM and first-generation graduate student enrollment and degree completion are in real jeopardy.”

In an effort to examine the obstacles URM students have faced in their matriculation, persistence, and completion of STEM graduate programs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, CGS, the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools (CHBGS) are collaborating on an NSF-funded RAPID Investigating Challenges to Matriculation and Completion for Underrepresented STEM Graduate Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. According to Ortega, “The pandemic has introduced a new set of challenges that we need to understand and be prepared to address quickly, but there are a number of things we already know we could be doing better, including recruiting and retaining a more diverse faculty, fostering a more inclusive learning environment, and addressing the financial barriers to degree completion.”

First-time Enrollment in Engineering Rebounds, Continued Growth in Health Sciences and Mathematical and Computer Sciences

After declining in the previous four years, first-time enrollment in Engineering increased 4.8% at the doctoral level and 5.1% at the master’s level between Fall 2018 and Fall 2019. The overall growth in first-time enrollment of international students (3.8%) contributed to rebound in engineering fields, which reported a 3.3% increase in international students. Other trends by broad field of study are generally consistent with the last few years. In addition to the broad field of Engineering, the largest one-year gains in first-time enrollment by broad field of study were in Mathematics and Computer Sciences (5.7%), Health Sciences (3.5%), and Other Fields (6.9%). In contrast, first-time graduate enrollment in Education over the same period flattened (+0.4%) after previous years of growth.

Institutions responding to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees for Fall 2019 enrolled more than 1.8 million graduate students. Nearly three quarters (73.5%) of total graduate enrollment was in master’s programs. Over one million of those graduate students, or 58.5%, were women. The three largest broad fields of study (education, business, and health sciences) were also the fields with the largest proportions of part-time graduate students (Ed: 63.7%; Bus: 51.7%; HSci: 41.2%).

About the report

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2009 to 2019 presents the findings of an annual survey of U.S. graduate schools, co-sponsored by CGS and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board. It is the only annual national survey that collects data on graduate enrollment by all fields of study and is the only source of national data on graduate applications by broad field of study. The report includes responses from 561 institutions and presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for Fall 2019, degrees conferred in 2018-19, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods.

###

But students from poorer backgrounds may not be able to wait for schools to restart admissions, so they’ll pursue other careers. Suzanne Ortega with the Council of Graduate Schools said that’s bad for diversity.

“We’re disrupting the flow from a more diverse undergraduate student pipeline to a less diverse student pipeline,” she said.

The rules could hit graduate students particularly hard, as doctoral programs tend to last more than four years. More than 88,000 international students enrolled in U.S. graduate programs for the first time last fall, according to the Council of Graduate Schools. One quarter of them were pursuing doctorates rather than shorter master’s degrees or certificates.

In a 2017 Council of Graduate Schools survey, 96% of graduate school deans said their school or institution offered mental health support or crisis counseling. Still, additional CGS research has shown that schools sometimes struggle to promote these services.

Project Will Deepen Knowledge of Career Transitions Across All Broad Fields of Study

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg (202) 461.3888/ khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — 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.

“The new grants from NSF and Mellon will give us the opportunity to delve deeper into experiences of students and alumni in STEM and Humanities fields,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “Our broader goal is to allow member universities to use data about PhD careers with greater nuance and awareness of challenges that students and alumni face at critical points of transition—in particular, from graduate school to career and in the years immediately following graduation. In 2021, we will launch a research hub for doctoral institutions as they seek to better understand and use PhD career data to improve programs.”

These projects build upon three earlier phases of CGS research: a feasibility study supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; a survey development phase supported by the Mellon, Sloan, and National Science Foundations (NSF #1534620); and a survey implementation phase supported by the Mellon Foundation and NSF (#1661272). In the most recent phase, CGS developed a network of 75 U.S. doctoral institutions through a competitive award process to collect data from STEM PhD students and alumni about their professional aspirations, career pathways, and career preparation.

Ortega believes the NSF-funded project will assist universities and scientific agencies in deploying investments and strategies that more effectively support STEM career trajectories. “Better understanding PhD career pathways has been a CGS research priority for nearly a decade, and this project takes the next step from understanding aspirations and experiences to bolstering career success. This work also has the potential to help funders and institutions refine their strategies for supporting graduate students and alumni pursuing careers in STEM fields.”

The Humanities Coalition, the new Mellon-funded effort, will further enhance the graduate education community’s understanding of humanities PhDs and their careers and to refine humanities-specific strategies for curricular change and program improvement. Additional research to better understand the nature of early career transitions for humanists is a primary component of the new initiative. CGS recently announced sub-awards for five institutions (Iowa State University, Purdue University, The University of Southern Mississippi, The University of Texas at El Paso, and University of Rochester) to join the data collection efforts. Additional sub-awardees will be identified in 2021 to support projects designed to develop and assess initiatives for better supporting humanities PhD students transitioning from graduate school.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg  (202) 461-3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — 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.

“First-generation, low-income, racially, and ethnically underrepresented (URM) students have been at greatest risk of educational disruptions during the recent pandemic,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “This means that the modest gains the U.S. has seen over the past ten years in URM graduate enrollment and degree completion are in real jeopardy. The insights we will gain from this work will generate evidence-based resources and policies surrounding admissions, funding, and other forms of student support.”

The new project, Investigating Challenges to Matriculation and Completion for Underrepresented STEM Graduate Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic, will focus on four specific areas of research: obstacles to matriculation, obstacles to retention, challenges to sustaining graduate school aspirations for rising college seniors, and strategies for graduate school success. The findings will inform graduate student advising and support structures and guide interventions to broaden URM student participation in STEM graduate education.

Maureen Hoyler, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education believes that, “This partnership with CGS presents an opportunity for McNair students and staff to discuss the changing landscape of graduate admissions because of the pandemic. Many McNair students were unable to complete their original research programs due to COVID. Other students have grave concerns regarding financial support for graduate studies at this time. Our goal is to provide students an opportunity to get answers for their most pressing questions so as to support their continued graduate matriculation and completion.”

“The Council of Historical Black Graduate Schools (CHBGS) is pleased to partner with CGS and COE on this project. It is extremely important to seek viable strategies and best practices that encourage and inspire underrepresented students to pursue and complete graduate degrees, especially when faced with a myriad of challenges such as those associated with COVID-19,” said CHBGS President Mary E. Owens-Southall, Ph.D. “The current discussions taking place are essential in that strategies employed during the upcoming semesters will have a profound impact on enrollment, retention, and degree completion of these students for at least the next 3-5 years.”

###

Although the survey focused on the effects of the pandemic on universities, it is just one of several issues that will affect their financial health. Changes to the US visa programme will also be a factor. On 22 June, the US government announced that it will stop issuing certain categories of foreign-worker visa — notably the H-1B visa for foreigners hired as university faculty members or by technology firms — until the end of the year. “It’s hard to say which is the major influence,” says Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington DC, which represents 500 universities worldwide, mostly in the United States and Canada. “They’re both really important and still very much in flux.”

Suzanne Ortega, president of the US Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), an association based in Washington DC that represents about 500 universities in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, calls the plan to revoke visas unworkable. Announcing the action so soon before the upcoming semester, she adds, creates an impossible timeline. Ortega believes that PhD students could have more latitude than undergraduates to meet in-person instruction requirements through independent study and laboratory work, but notes that there are still many uncertainties.