Contact:
Julia Kent
(202) 223-3791
jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has awarded the 2013 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities to Dr. Christian Kleinbub, Associate Professor of History of Art at The Ohio State University. The awards ceremony was held during the CGS 53rd Annual Meeting.

The Arlt Award is given annually to a young scholar-teacher who has written a book deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to scholarship in the humanities. Dr. Kleinbub becomes the award’s 42nd recipient for his book, Vision and the Visionary in Raphael (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011). He received his PhD in Art History from Columbia University in 2006.

Dr. Kleinbub’s book explores the mastery of Raphael’s paintings and offers new appreciation for the transformative affect his work had on Renaissance art. The manifestation of heavenly beings and prophetic visions to human eyes were a central theme for Raphael. In the book, Kleinbub analyzes the supernatural scenes in Raphael’s paintings in the context of the naturalistic style for which Renaissance artists are known. He reveals often-overlooked details that bring to life the fascinating contrasts hidden within some of the world’s most recognizable paintings.

Vision and the Visionary was selected to receive the Arlt Award for the impact the book has had since its publication. Nominators praised the book for advancing the discourse on Renaissance art among students, academics, critics, and art aficionados alike.

Photo caption: The 2013 Gustave O. Arlt Award. From left to right: Pat Osmer, The Ohio State University (nominator); John McCarthy, University of Massachusetts Amherst (selection committee member); John Stevenson, University of Colorado at Boulder (selection committee chair); Christian Kleinbub, winner, 2013 Arlt Award; Angelina Kleinbub; Frederick Kleinbub; Sally Pratt, University of Southern California (selection committee member)

Created in 1971, the Arlt Award honors the first president of CGS. The winner must have earned a doctorate within the past seven years from, and currently be teaching at, a North American university. Nominations are made by CGS member institutions and are reviewed by a panel of scholars in the field of competition, which rotates annually among seven disciplines within the humanities. This year’s field was The Arts (Art History/Criticism/Conservation and Music). The winner receives a $1,000 honorarium, a certificate, and travel to the awards ceremony.

Contact:
Nate Thompson
(202) 223-3791
nthompson@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, D.C. — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today announced a new initiative to address the need for tracking the career pathways of PhD holders across broad fields of graduate study. With input from its member institutions, CGS will assess the feasibility of a larger project to develop and enhance processes for tracking the career pathways of PhD alumni of STEM, humanities and social science graduate programs.

A new grant from the Mellon Foundation will support the council’s work to understand distinctive features of the employment outcomes of PhD holders in the humanities and social sciences, and research methods appropriate to their study. CGS will simultaneously, and comparatively, study similar questions with respect to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and economics with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, continuing two earlier grants to study STEM graduate education. The combined one-year study will determine the potential value of implementing a long-term project recommending best practices in tracking the career pathways of PhD-holders.

At the Council of Graduate Schools’ Annual Meeting in San Diego today, CGS President Debra W. Stewart noted that the project is the first of its kind. “This project addresses a major gap in the understanding of PhD career outcomes, one of the key outcomes of graduate education that has not yet been measured on a large scale across a broad spectrum of fields. While past and current efforts to map the career pathways of PhD holders have furthered our understanding of this issue, this project addresses the specific need for program-level data, which will most effectively allow institutions to improve their programs, and students to make more informed decisions.”

The current lack of reliable information beyond first-job data means that pathways into careers are not always transparent to prospective or current graduate students, faculty, employers, or graduate program administrators. Each of these groups stands to gain from a fuller understanding of PhD career pathways, including the extent of PhD careers outside of the academy.

Through direct grants to universities and by underwriting research, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has long supported efforts to improve the intellectual and professional outcomes of doctoral education in the humanities.  In recent years, the Foundation has assisted universities and professional organizations in launching initiatives that broaden the preparation of PhD students for a variety of professional trajectories in as well as outside the academy.

The Sloan Foundation, too, has had a longstanding interest in graduate education and workforce development, related to its core commitment to education and basic research in STEM fields.  Sloan has partnered with CGS on studies of the career outcomes of those graduating with Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degrees; this new model for graduate education has gained traction, with over 300 PSMs now established in universities across the country. 

The project will include a survey of over 500 universities on their current practices for tracking doctoral program alumni, a white paper exploring all that is currently known about the demand for career tracking for PhDs, and a two-day intensive workshop of researchers, graduate deans, PhD holders and other experts on the subject of tracking career pathways.

A final report on the study will be shared with the graduate community in December 2014.

India surges 40% while growth from China slows to 5%

Contact:
Julia Kent
jkent@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today reported a 10% increase in the first-time enrollment of international graduate students from 2012 to 2013, a growth that adds to 8% increases in this figure in each of the last two years. Total enrollment of international graduate students among responding institutions reached 220,000 in 2013. The findings were part of the 2013 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase III: Final Offers of Admission and Enrollment.

Earlier phases of this year’s survey pointed to a slow-down in the growth of applications submitted by international students, which rose only 2% in 2013 and was the lowest increase in eight years.

Considering the slowed momentum in international applications, CGS President Debra W. Stewart noted that the strong growth in offers of admission and in enrollment reported by the Phase III study are encouraging signs to U.S. graduate schools. “There is no doubt that international students are eager to take advantage of the extraordinary quality of U.S. graduate institutions. The continued growth in first-time enrollment is a sign that decreasing applications have not yet damaged the strong pipeline of international graduate students.”

The survey results corroborate findings from another recent CGS report, Graduate Enrollment & Degrees: 2002-2012, which reported an 8% increase in first-time graduate enrollments among international students from fall 2011 to fall 2012 and a widening gap between U.S. and international enrollments in a number of key fields. International students now account for 15 percent of the nation’s total graduate enrollment.

Trends by country/region of origin

Substantial variations in growth were found among the sending countries and regions analyzed in the study:

• The overall trend in first-time enrollment of international graduate students for 2013 was driven in large part by students from India. The number of first-time enrollees from India increased 40% this year, substantially more than the 1% increase in 2012 and 2% increase in 2011.
• First-time enrollment among students from China increased 5% in 2013, a substantially smaller increase than the 22% surge in 2012 and 21% increase in 2011. This new finding marks the end of seven consecutive years of double-digit growth in first-time graduate enrollment of students from China. However, China continues to be the largest source of international graduate students, representing 34% of all international graduate students in the United States, according to survey respondents.
• First-time enrollment of students from Brazil increased 17% in 2013, following a 14% increase in 2012.
• By region, the first-time enrollment among students from the Middle East grew at 10%, a smaller increase than the 18% increase in 2012.
• First-time enrollment of South Korean students dipped 12% between 2012 and 2013. South Korea continues to be a leading source of international graduate students in the U.S., behind only China and India.  
• According to survey respondents, students from Europe constitute 7% of all first-time enrollments among international students in 2013, while students from Africa constitute 3%, and students from the Middle East constitute 6%.

Commenting on the trends in sending countries, Dr. Stewart said that it will be particularly important to monitor the enrollment patterns of students from the countries that send the largest number of international students to U.S. graduate schools—China, India, and South Korea. “While the substantial increase in first-time enrollments of Indian students is positive, the fluctuation in India enrollment in recent years makes it difficult to confirm a definite trend. Taken with slowed growth in first-time enrollments from China, and the persistent declines in first-time enrollments of South Korean students, I don’t think we can count on any single country to sustain the strong participation of international students that U.S. graduate schools have enjoyed in the past.”

Trends by broad field of study

International graduate students continue to enroll in fields that have been traditionally popular among this population. The two most popular fields among international students are physical and earth sciences, which includes mathematics and computer sciences, and engineering: together they comprised 47 percent of all international graduate student enrollment in 2013, according to survey respondents. Changes in first-time enrollment by field are shown in the table below.

*includes Mathematics and Computer Sciences

Trends by location of study and institution type

International first-time graduate enrollment increased at public institutions (11%) as well as private, not-for-profit institutions (8%) in 2013. All four major regions of the United States saw growth in first-time graduate enrollment in 2013, with increases of 17% in the West, 12% in the Midwest, 9% in the Northeast, and 7% in the South.

Institutions awarding larger numbers of graduate degrees to international students were less likely to experience increases in international first-time graduate enrollment in 2013 than institutions awarding smaller numbers of graduate degrees to international students. This is a reversal from 2012, in which first-time enrollment among international graduate students was larger at institutions awarding larger numbers of graduate degrees to international students than institutions awarding smaller numbers of graduate degrees to international students. First-time enrollment increased an average of 9% at the responding institutions among the 100 largest in terms of graduate degrees awarded to international students, compared with a 14% average increase at the institutions outside the largest 100.

About the report

Findings from the 2013 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase III: Final Offers of Admission and Enrollment is based on the third phase of a three-part annual survey of international graduate student applications, admissions, and enrollment among U.S. member institutions. The survey had a response rate of 56%, including 76 of the 100 institutions that award the largest number of graduate degrees to international students. The report is posted at http://www.cgsnet.org/benchmarking/international-graduate-admissions-survey. Overall, the 285 institutions responding to the Phase III survey conferred 66% of the approximately 103,000 graduate degrees awarded to international students in the United States in 2010/11.

Survey of recent alumni reveals strong income and employment results

Contact:
Julia Kent
jkent@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Washington, DC – Recent graduates of Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree programs are reporting strong rates of employment and high income levels, according to the results of the third annual PSM Student Outcomes Survey released by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). The report tracks initial hiring trends and perceived satisfaction among graduates of PSM degree programs between 2010 and 2013. The study was supported with funding from the Sloan Foundation.

The PSM is an innovative graduate degree designed to allow students to pursue advanced training in science or mathematics, while simultaneously developing workplace skills highly valued by employers. PSM programs prepare graduates for careers in business, government, and non-profit organizations, combining rigorous study in science and/or mathematics with coursework in management, policy, law and related fields. Most PSM programs require a final project or team experience, as well as a “real-world” internship in a business or public sector enterprise.

According to the survey, 78 percent of respondents who graduated during the 2012-13 academic year were employed during the time at which the survey was conducted, despite beginning their careers in a challenging job market. The employment rate was even stronger for those who completed PSM degrees earlier in the study period: 91 percent of 2010-11 graduates and 88 percent of 2011-12 graduates were employed.  

Among the respondents who graduated during the 2012-13 academic year and were employed at the time of the survey, 91 percent were working in a job that is closely or somewhat related to their field of study. Employed respondents were overwhelmingly working in full-time positions (95%) as opposed to part-time (5%).   

Two-thirds (68%) of PSM graduates who were working full-time reported earning above $50,000 a year, and 72 percent of all survey respondents are very satisfied or generally satisfied with the post-graduation employment prospects provided by their PSM degree.

According to CGS President Debra W. Stewart, these high returns on students’ educational investment are a hallmark of PSM programs. “We continue to see outstanding prospects for new PSM graduates as they begin their careers. The real-world experience they gained in applied professional settings during their academic program gives PSM students a distinct advantage in the job market.” Dr. Stewart added, “The fact that PSM graduates have shown strong employment outcomes for each year of this three-year study is encouraging, because it shows that employers are consistently recognizing the value of these newly-minted degree holders.”

The survey report includes data on the reasons students enrolled in PSM programs, their experiences and satisfaction with them, their current employment status, salaries, and the perceived value of a PSM degree. Key findings include:
 

• 83% of 2012-13 PSM graduates were very satisfied or generally satisfied with the distinctive nature/reputation of the program and 82% were very satisfied or generally satisfied with the quality of their non-scientific and/or mathematical professional training (a key element of PSM degrees).
• Among 2012-13 PSM graduates who were employed, 66% were working in business/industry (including start-ups), about 11% were working in government, 9% in academia, 8% in non-profit organizations, and 6% were working in other fields, including research and health care.
• Among 2012-13 PSM graduates in new jobs, 19% secured that employment because of their PSM internship.
• Two attributes of PSM programs that stood out as being of particularly high value to recent graduates were the internships and ‘real world’ experiences, and the quality of scientific and/or mathematical training.

Created in 1997 with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PSM programs are offered at 137 institutions of higher education, as of August 2013. Well over 5,000 PSM degrees have been conferred since the program’s inception. The PSM degree model has been so successful that it was included in the America COMPETES Act, allowing institutions the opportunity to use federal funds to support a PSM program.

The full report, Outcomes for PSM Alumni 2012/13, is available here. More information about the PSM can be found at http://sciencemasters.com.

Washington, DC — Debra W. Stewart announced today that she will step down as President of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) effective June 30, 2014. Since July 2000, Stewart has served as president of the leading national organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of graduate education and research.

In a message sent today to graduate education leaders of the 547 CGS member institutions, Stewart said, “It has been a great privilege to serve as your president. CGS is a strong organization and you, the CGS deans, are the foundation of that strength. Your engagement makes the work we do here in Washington a privilege and a pleasure.”

Stewart plans to remain actively engaged in graduate and higher education issues, initially turning her energies to writing and research on graduate education as a Senior Scholar at CGS.

Robert Augustine, Chair of the CGS Board of Directors and Dean of the Graduate School at Eastern Illinois University, said, “Debra Stewart has provided dynamic and visionary leadership for CGS during a period of rapid change in graduate education and research. Under her direction, the council has become a nationally and globally recognized 'think tank' on graduate education, advancing best practices that have been adopted by a remarkable number of institutions.”

During her tenure as CGS President, Dr. Stewart has led groundbreaking initiatives in the area of research, public policy, institutional benchmarking and global graduate education. In the best practice research area, the council has advanced the graduate community’s understanding of factors associated with degree completion at the master’s and doctoral level; led the development of the highly successful professional master’s degree; and, in partnership with member institutions, developed best practices for research integrity education for graduate students, among other projects. Stewart has also led the council in advancing one of the council’s key policy issues, developing the highly-skilled human talent needed for the 21st century economy and workforce, by building collaborations between graduate institutions, business leaders and policy makers.

In the international arena, Stewart has been instrumental in expanding the council’s international membership with the goal of promoting better collaboration and understanding among CGS’s North American members and graduate institutions worldwide.  To support these efforts, Stewart led the creation of the Strategic Leaders Global Summit on Graduate Education, an annual CGS event that has brought together graduate education leaders from 30 countries in its seven-year history.

A national search for Stewart’s successor will be formally announced later this month.

Domestic Enrollment Still a Concern, Especially in STEM Fields

Contact:
Julia Kent
jkent@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported today a 1.8% increase in first-time enrollment between fall 2011 and fall 2012. More than 461,000 students enrolled for the first time in graduate certificate, education specialist, master’s, or doctoral programs for the fall 2012, according to institutions responding to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees, an annual survey that has been conducted since 1986.

Despite the gains in first-time enrollment, total graduate enrollment fell 2.3% following a 0.8% decline in the previous year. Total graduate enrollment was nearly 1.74 million students in fall 2012.

Institutions responding to the survey received nearly 1.98 million applications for admission to fall 2012 graduate programs. Applications rose 3.9% between fall 2011 and fall 2012. The overall acceptance rate was slightly lower than the previous year, with 39.5% of applications resulting in offers of admission for fall 2012. As CGS also reported last year, the fact that first-time enrollment trends have not matched the growth in applications may be a sign that many qualified students who wish to attend graduate school are faced with obstacles to enrolling.

First-time graduate enrollment of temporary residents increased 8% between fall 2011 and fall 2012, according to survey respondents, up slightly from the 7.8% increase in fall 2011. In contrast, the growth in first-time graduate enrollment for U.S. citizens and permanent residents between fall 2011 and fall 2012 was essentially stagnant at 0.6%. In fall 2012, more than one-half (54.7%) of all temporary resident graduate students were enrolled in engineering, mathematics and computer sciences, physical and earth sciences, or biological and agricultural sciences. Only 17.3% of U.S. citizens/permanent residents were enrolled in these fields.

CGS President Debra W. Stewart viewed the data for first-time graduate enrollment with cautious optimism. “It’s certainly good news that the number of new students enrolling in U.S. graduate programs is trending upward. However the trend must accelerate if we are to gain ground against previous losses.” Stewart added that this is particularly the case for domestic students. “An increase of less than one percent in first-time enrollment for domestic students is worrisome given that the U.S. economy will have an increasing need for highly-skilled talent in order to thrive. Our country must do more to address the economic factors, like student debt, that discourage many students from enrolling in U.S. graduate programs.”

One piece of encouraging news contained in the report is that first-time enrollment for underrepresented minorities has increased. Among survey respondents, first-time graduate enrollment rose 7.4% for Hispanic/Latinos, 5.7% for American Indians/Alaska Natives, and 4.6% for Blacks/African Americans between fall 2011 and fall 2012.

Other report findings include: 

Trends by field

• The largest one-year changes in graduate applications between fall 2011 and fall 2012 occurred in mathematics and computer sciences (11.1%), health sciences (9.6%), and engineering (9.3%).
• Applications to graduate programs in business rose 0.7% between fall 2011 and fall 2012, much slower than the 4.3% growth in the previous year.
• First-time enrollment in education programs grew 2.5% for fall 2012, compared to a sharp drop of 8.8% in fall 2011.
• The largest fields by total enrollment were education and business, respectively accounting for 20% and 16% of total graduate enrollment at responding institutions in fall 2012.

Trends by degree level

• About 74% of all graduate students in fall 2012 were enrolled in programs leading to a master’s degree or a graduate certificate, according to survey respondents.
• Responding institutions awarded approximately 67,200 doctoral degrees, 540,000 master’s degrees, and 31,900 graduate certificates in 2011-12.
• Between fall 2011 and fall 2012, first-time enrollment increased by 5.0% at the doctoral level and 1.2% at the master’s level.

Student demographics

• About 58% of all first-time graduate students in fall 2012 were women, according to survey respondents.
• According to survey respondents, women earned nearly two-thirds of the graduate certificates, 60% of the master’s degrees, and 52% of the doctorates. Academic year 2011-12 marked the fourth straight year women earned a majority of doctoral degrees.
• Over the 2011-2012 period, first-time enrollment for Whites fell by 0.9%.

About the report

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2002 to 2012 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 covers enrollment in all fields of graduate study and is the only source of national data on graduate applications. The report includes responses from 675 institutions, which collectively confer about 73% of the master’s degrees and 91% of the doctorates awarded each year. The survey report presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for fall 2012, degrees conferred in 2011-12, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods.

Contact:
Nate Thompson
nthompson@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Today the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported that initial offers of admission from U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students increased 9% from 2012 to 2013, following an increase of 9% last year. The new data marks the fourth consecutive year of growth in international graduate admissions.

In contrast to previous years, however, the report uncovered a wider divergence between applications and offers of admissions trends. For fall 2013, the final overall growth in the number of applications was 2%—much lower than the stronger gains of 9% in 2012 and 11% in 2011—even as the year-to-year increases in initial offers of admission have remained steady over the 2010-2013 period.

Debra. W. Stewart, President of the Council of Graduate Schools, commented that “For now, the year-to-year decline in applications has not appeared to have a measurable impact on the overall number of international students who are offered admission to U.S. graduate programs. This is a sign that U.S. graduate programs continue to see international applicants to U.S. graduate programs as competitive, high-caliber students.”

Admissions trends by country

The increase in the overall number of offers of admission to U.S. graduate schools was driven by a 27% increase in initial offers of admission to prospective students from India, a sharp turn upward following the previous year, in which there was no change in offers of admission to prospective students from that country. Admission offers also grew by 5% to prospective students from China, even though there was a 3% decline in the number of applications from that country. The data for fall 2013 marks the eighth year in a row of increases in the number of offers of admission for prospective Chinese students. Offers of admission to students from the Middle East rose 12%, marking the sixth year of significant growth, and offers of admission to Brazilian students rose 46%. (It should be noted that offers of admission to prospective students from Brazil make up only 1% of the total number of offers of admission to prospective international students.) However, offers of admission to students from South Korea, the third largest sending country of international students to U.S. graduate programs, declined 10%.

Admissions trends by field

The survey results show that initial offers of admission increased in all broad fields of study except the life sciences and education, where numbers of admissions declined by 4% and 3% respectively. Engineering, physical and earth sciences, and ‘other fields’ saw the largest increases in admissions offers, with gains of 16%, 11%, and 10% respectively. Gains also occurred in arts and humanities (7%), business (3%), and social sciences and psychology (3%).

Admissions trends by institution size

Increases in international offers of admission in 2013 were equally strong overall at institutions awarding larger numbers of graduate degrees to international students and at institutions awarding smaller numbers of graduate degrees to international students, with both cohorts showing a 9% increase in offers of admission to prospective international students. At institutions awarding larger numbers of graduate degrees to international students, stronger increases were seen on average for offers of admission to prospective graduate students from China, Mexico, and Europe. By contrast, increases in offers of admission to prospective graduate students from Brazil, India, Canada, and Africa were larger on average at the institutions outside the largest 100.

Admissions trends by region

As was the case last year, offers of admission by U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students increased in all four major regions of the United States. The Midwest saw the most growth (12%), followed by the West, the South, and the Northeast, with 11%, 8%, and 6% increases respectively.

About the report

Findings from the 2013 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase II: Final Applications and Initial Offers of Admission is based on the second phase of a three-part annual survey of international graduate student applications, admissions, and enrollment among U.S. member institutions. The survey had a response rate of 57%, including 79 of the 100 institutions that award the largest number of graduate degrees to international students. The report is posted at http://www.cgsnet.org/benchmarking/international-graduate-admissions-survey.

Contacts:
Julia Kent, CGS: (202) 223-3791
John McCool, TIAA-CREF: (888) 200-4062

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today announced awards to 15 universities to develop financial education programs for graduate and undergraduate students. The grants were awarded as part of the groundbreaking CGS best practice program, Enhancing Student Financial Education, co-sponsored by TIAA-CREF, a leading financial services provider. The program comes at a time when public funding for higher education has declined, and the costs associated with higher education continue to rise.

Awardees will work in collaboration with CGS and TIAA-CREF to design programs that prepare students to play an active role in managing their personal finances and making informed decisions about saving, spending and borrowing. The institutions will address the needs of different groups of students, while considering factors such as their fields of study, degree levels and chosen career pathways, each of which has significant financial ramifications.

By surveying and measuring the effectiveness of each school’s programming, the project will enable CGS to develop best practices for improving financial education among college students and graduate students. These findings will be made widely available to the higher education community through interactive tools and resources over the next two years.

The selection of awardees was made through a competitive proposal process involving an independent selection committee of experts in higher education reforms and financial education. The institutions selected to receive funding are:

• Arkansas State University
• Cornell University
• Eastern Illinois University
• Florida A&M University
• Iowa State University
• Kansas State University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Mississippi State University
• The Ohio State University
• University of Colorado System
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Kentucky
• University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• University of South Florida
• Winthrop University

An additional 19 universities will participate in the project as affiliate partners.

CGS President Debra W. Stewart lauded the field of proposals, noting that the project addresses an area of leading concern for graduate deans, according to an annual survey of CGS members. “In collaboration with a range of stakeholders at their institutions, the graduate community is stepping up to help students prepare for the financial challenges of college life and beyond,” Stewart said. “Universities recognize that money management skills are no longer optional. They’re essential for academic success as students work more, borrow more, and balance more family obligations with their studies.”

“By working together, universities and the private sector are uniquely well-positioned to provide students with the tools and resources they need to effectively manage their financial futures,” said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF. “Working with CGS, we are proud to partner with schools across the nation to help put students on a path toward fiscal responsibility and financial well-being.”

Proposal evaluation took into consideration the innovations each university will develop to engage and address the needs of different groups of students and considered factors such as degree level, field of study, chosen career path and student demographics. A project’s potential to successfully engage students was also key. Institutions that submitted proposals were asked to provide detailed plans for using online tools, social media, digital solutions and face-to-face interaction to foster student participation.

“Sharing sound advice isn’t enough to help students gain confidence in their financial skills,” said Daniel Denecke, principal investigator for the project and CGS Associate Vice President of Programs and Best Practices. “Undergraduate and graduate students, especially those in the millennial generation, are more likely to respond to personally relevant information than generic advice. This project will make an impact by engaging students and helping them to develop financial strategies to achieve their career goals. And the variety of institutions taking the national lead on this issue, both as awardees and as affiliates, ensures that successful strategies will be relevant and replicable across the higher education community.”

Data collection for the project will begin October 2013 with a baseline survey of student financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. A control group of students will be surveyed to measure the effectiveness of interventions, and a post-program survey will examine the progress made by students who participated in the project curriculum and outreach. A survey of financial standing will gather information about household income, savings and borrowing to study how these factors influence students’ financial skills.

More information about the project is available at Enhancing Student Financial Education.

Contact:
Julia Kent
(202) 223-3791
jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) President Debra W. Stewart today released the following statement in response to the ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States RE: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The case questions whether the University of Texas at Austin is permitted to use race, along with other criteria, in making undergraduate admissions decisions.

On June 24th, the Supreme Court sent the Fisher v. UT Austin case back for review by the U.S. court of appeals for the 5th circuit. As the case continues to be analyzed, it is important to remember that the diversity of American colleges and universities is one of the greatest strengths of the U.S. higher education system. Diverse student populations provide experiences and perspectives that enhance the education of all students, preparing them to work, collaborate and thrive in a variety of contexts. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) supports the commitments of its U.S. member universities to meeting this 21st-century objective and to developing a broad base of highly educated U.S. talent that will support the health and prosperity of the nation as a whole.

How best to achieve inclusion in a student population is a complex question, and one that must be answered in individual university contexts. The Council of Graduate Schools believes that it is important to protect the autonomy of U.S. institutions to design admissions policies that are customized to their institutional missions.

The arguments in the Fisher v. UT Austin case are based on undergraduate admissions processes, which tend to be uniform and centralized in the Admissions Office of a university. By contrast, the graduate admissions process is decentralized, more nuanced and customized to the missions of individual graduate programs. Institutional autonomy in achieving diversity has far-reaching implications in the graduate education sector for that reason, especially in programs and disciplines that see less diversity than others.

As the Council of Graduate Schools works to help universities respond to this and future rulings, we will stand by our position that the United States must continue to support and develop the diversity of its talent.

Robert Augustine of Eastern Illinois University to Serve as Chair of CGS Board
(12/13/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) Board of Directors has announced its officers for the 2013 term. The new board was seated at the 52nd Annual Meeting, December 5, 2012 in Washington, DC. Dr. Robert Augustine, Dean of the Graduate School, Research and International Programs at Eastern Illinois University (EIU), became the 2013 CGS Board Chair. Dr. Augustine has served as the graduate dean at EIU since 2000.

Winners of 2012 CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Awards Announced (12/13/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools / ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Awards, the nation’s most prestigious honor for doctoral dissertations, were presented to Björn B. Brandenburg and Junjie Chen at an awards ceremony during the CGS 52nd Annual Meeting.

Monica Popescu Wins 2012 Arlt Award in the Humanities (12/13/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has awarded the 2012 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities to Dr. Monica Popescu, Associate Professor of English at McGill University. The Arlt Award is given annually to a young scholar-teacher who has written a book deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to scholarship in the humanities.

University of Illinois at Chicago Wins ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Promoting Success in Graduate Education (12/13/2012)
The fourth annual “ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Promoting Success in Graduate Education: From Admission through Completion” was presented to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) during the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). The award is sponsored by CGS and Educational Testing Service (ETS).

CGS and TIAA‐CREF Join Forces to Enhance Student Financial Literacy (11/27/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), a nonprofit organization devoted to graduate education and research, and TIAA‐CREF, a leading financial services provider, have announced a project to enhance the financial literacy of graduate and undergraduate students. Through the endeavor with TIAA‐CREF, CGS will make awards to colleges and universities across the country to develop innovative financial literacy programs that can be tailored to students with a range of financial circumstances and educational goals.

Media Alert: CGS Invites Media Participation at 52nd Annual Meeting (11/16/2012)
Higher education leaders and other stakeholders will convene to discuss new trends and important questions in graduate education. The conference theme, “Creativity and Innovation in Graduate Education” will inspire discussion across six plenaries and a diverse range of concurrent sessions.
 

First-Time Enrollment of International Graduate Students Up 8 Percent (11/8/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools reported an 8 percent increase in the first-time enrollment of international students from 2011 to 2012, matching the 8 percent increase between 2010 and 2011, and representing the third straight year of growth in first-time enrollments. Total enrollment of international graduate students among responding institutions reached 197,000 in 2012.

CGS Announces Awards to Support the Assessment of Student Learning by Future Faculty (10/31/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced awards to seven universities to develop new approaches for enhancing graduate student skills and understanding in the assessment of undergraduate learning. Supported through grants to CGS from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Teagle Foundation, the awardees will integrate learning assessment into programs that prepare graduate students for faculty careers.

Graduate Schools See Growth in Applications and Degrees, But Enroll Fewer New Students in 2011 (9/28/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported that U.S. graduate schools saw a 1.7% dip in enrollments of first-time graduate students between fall 2010 and fall 2011, marking the second consecutive year of slight decreases. Across the board, graduate school enrollments remain ahead of where they were a decade ago, but the latest figures reverse increases for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years, when enrollments grew 4.5% and 5.5% respectively. These findings are the result of the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees, an annual survey that has been conducted since 1986.

Employment Levels Remain High for Professional Science Master's Degree Holders (9/18/2012)
Recent graduates of Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree programs are reporting strong rates of employment, according to the second annual PSM Student Outcomes Survey released by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). The report tracks initial hiring trends and perceived satisfaction among 2010-11 and 2011-12 graduates of PSM degree programs.

CGS Announces Awards to Support Research Ethics Education in International STEM Collaborations (9/14/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has made awards to five universities to integrate research ethics education into international collaborations in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) fields. Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF # 1135345), the project seeks to enhance the preparation of future scientists and engineers for the ethical challenges that often arise in global research.

University Leaders Issue Statement on Preparing Graduate Students for Global Careers (9/6/2012)
Higher education leaders from 15 countries have agreed on a set of principles to guide the preparation of graduate students for the demands of the global workforce and economy. The statement was released following the Sixth Annual Strategic Leaders Global Summit, “From Brain Drain to Brain Circulation: Graduate Education for Global Career Pathways,” jointly hosted by the U.S.-based Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and the Technische Universität München.

Media Alert for the 2013 CGS International Summit, From Brain Drain to Brain Circulation: Graduate Education for Global Career Pathways (8/28/2012)
From September 4-6, 2012, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and the Technische Universität München (TUM) will convene the Sixth Annual Strategic Leaders Global Summit on Graduate Education. The summit will address pressing questions for national economies and education systems.

Report Highlights Needs in Graduate Education for Research Integrity, Offers Best Practice Models for Institutions (8/27/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools has released a new report highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach to graduate education in research integrity. The report, Research and Scholarly Integrity in Graduate Education, provides recommendations for U.S. universities based on best practice research as well as data collected through a multi-year CGS initiative, The Project for Scholarly Integrity (PSI), supported by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.

International Graduate Admissions Increase 9%: Admissions Offers Rise for China, the Middle East, and Brazil (8/27/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools reported that offers of admission from U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students increased 9% from 2011 to 2012, following an increase of 9% last year. The new data marks the 3rd consecutive year of growth in international graduate admissions.

Research Universities and the Future of America: Ten Breakthrough Actions Vital to Our Nation’s Prosperity and Security (6/14/2012)
CGS President, Debra W. Stewart, issued the following statement on the National Research Council’s June 2012 report, Research Universities and the Future of America: Ten Breakthrough Actions Vital to Our Nation’s Prosperity and Security.

U.S. Must Close Gap Between Graduate Schools, Employers to Stay Competitive, Spur Innovation (4/19/2012)
By 2020, 2.6 million new or replacement jobs will require an advanced degree. Yet a new report warns that the nation will not be able to tap graduate students with high-level knowledge and skills unless university, business, nonprofit and government sectors team more closely — and innovatively — than they do now. The report, Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers, calls for such changes in graduate education’s link to the workforce.

CGS Launches Project to Prepare Future Faculty to Assess Undergraduate Learning (4/10/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has been awarded grants from the Alfred P. Sloan and Teagle Foundations for a new initiative to address the need for greater faculty expertise and engagement in the assessment of undergraduate student learning. CGS will collaborate with five U.S. universities to develop model projects for integrating learning assessment for the improvement of teaching into programs that prepare graduate students for faculty careers.

International Graduate Applications Rise for Seventh Consecutive Year; China, Mexico, and Brazil show largest gains (4/3/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is reporting that the number of applications from prospective international students to U.S. graduate schools increased 9% in 2012, following an 11% gain in 2011 and matching the 9% growth seen in 2010.

Selection of Institutional Partners made for Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion (3/15/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has selected 20 proposals representing 21 universities to participate in a study to examine completion and attrition among underrepresented minorities in STEM doctoral programs.

Richard W. Linton Announced as CGS/NSF Dean-in-Residence (2/21/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), has announced the appointment of the 2012-2013 CGS/NSF Dean-in-Residence, Richard W. Linton.

CGS responds to the Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Budget (2/15/2012)
We commend President Obama for the administration’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget which invests in education, research and innovation. The proposed budget reflects a strong commitment to the understanding that American competitiveness in a global economy depends on developing human talent.

Council of Graduate Schools Applauds President’s Call for Investment in Basic Research and Expanding Access to Education (1/25/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) strongly supports President Obama’s call for policies to increase job opportunities, support basic research, reform immigration, and expand access to education. In his 2012 State of the Union message, the president indicated his support for strategic investments to spur economic recovery while also streamlining government.

Keck Graduate Institute selected to administer PSM Affiliation process (1/25/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced that the Keck Graduate Institute has been selected to administer the Professional Science Master’s (PSM) Affiliation process.

Professional Science Master’s programs see strong growth in 2011 (1/18/2012)
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) released the results of its second annual Professional Science Master’s Enrollment and Degrees Survey documenting applications,  enrollments, and degrees awarded in Professional Science Master’s (PSM) programs. The PSM is an innovative graduate degree designed to allow students to pursue advanced training in science or mathematics, while simultaneously developing workplace skills highly valued by employers.

View 2011 Press Releases