What Is a Doctorate?

November 15-17, 2016

São Paulo, Brazil

Over the last decade, a number of global trends affecting the definition and delivery of doctoral education have materialized. Seeking to standardize and clarify various degree types, several countries, regions, and organizations have advanced degree outcomes frameworks that more clearly articulate the desired outcomes of doctoral degrees. Meanwhile, significant growth in the number and types of professional doctorates has led to new questions about the difference between PhDs and professional doctorates. Finally and perhaps most importantly, disciplinary societies, funding agencies, graduate institutions, and students themselves have begun to put serious effort into understanding and diversifying the careers of PhD alumni. 

The Council of Graduate Schools and the University of São Paulo invited representatives from 11 countries to explore these ideas and others at the Tenth Annual Strategic Leaders Global Summit on Graduate Education in São Paulo, Brazil.

Event Materials:

• Statement of Practical Actions on Definitions and Delivery of Doctoral Education
• Online Proceedings

CGS contributions to the Summit are supported by a generous gift from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute Final Program

Selected PowerPoint presentations from the 2016 CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute are below. Presentations are in chronological order by each category. Presentations are offered as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. The file size is indicated after the name of each presenter.

New Deans Institute Presentations

Session I: Freshman Deans' Reflections
Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko (2.18 MB)
Julie Masterson (228 KB)

Session V: Advocacy 101
Kinchel Doerner (275 KB)
Steven Matson (872 KB)

Summer Workshop Presentations

Dean Dialogue: Future of the Dissertation
Nancy Marcus (1.46 MB)

Dean Dialogue: Evolution of Master's Education and the 2016 Project on the Master's Degree
Maria Di Stefano, James Marshall, and Jerry Weinberg (1.92 MB)

ProQuest Breakfast Meeting
Marlene Coles (2.41 MB)

Plenary II: The Graduate Degree's Golden Age: How Trends in the Job Market, Society, and Academic Innovation are Shaping Demand for Post-Baccalaureate Education
Sean Gallagher (226 KB)

Dean's Toolbox: Communicating Effectively Using Social Media
Karen DePauw (4.16 MB)

ETS Breakfast Meeting
David Payne (1.00 MB)

Plenary III: Development: Essential Guidance for Graduate Deans
Penelope Hunt (226 KB)

Hot Topic: Models of Student Funding
Lorie Liebrock and Kent Holsinger (5.78 MB)

Technical Workshop: International Student Recruitment on a Budget
Jessica Horowitz, Christopher Medalis, Sanjiv Sarin, and Margaret Wenger (3.22 MB)

Technical Workshop: Got Data? Now What?
Frances Leslie (1.08 MB)

M.J.T. Smith (957 KB)

Technical Workshop: Pregnancy, Parenting, and Post-baccalaureate Study: Meeting Legal Requirements
Fiona Doyle and Jessica Lee (2.97 MB)

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg

202.461.3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, D.C. – Since 2004 the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has conducted the International Graduate Admissions Survey, an annual study of applications and offers of admission, as well as first-time and total enrollment of international graduate students in master’s/certificate and research doctoral programs. The data from the 2016 preliminary applications survey provide an initial look into Fall 2016 international graduate admissions at U.S. institutions, and suggest that it will follow recent trends.

Key points gleaned from our preliminary dataset are below. Visit the CGS website for additional information including infographics, data tables, and notes and definitions from the survey. The final application counts, along with first-time and total international graduate enrollment for Fall 2016 will be available in early 2017.

Key points from the 2016 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey: Preliminary Applications

• The total preliminary number of international graduate applications reported in this year’s survey declined slightly from the results of the 2015 preliminary survey; however, this may be due to the lower response rate (n=345), as well as the change in the census date for this survey.
• Chinese and Indian applicants continue to represent the vast majority of international graduate applications in both master’s/certificate and doctoral programs.
• For the first time, the survey asked the preliminary application data for Iranian applicants and found they constituted 8% of international doctoral applications, tied with South Korean applicants.
• Engineering fields continue to be the most popular fields of study for international graduate applications in both master’s/certificate and doctoral programs.
• Master’s/certificate applications in mathematics & computer sciences have increased proportionally by five percentage points compared to the Fall 2015 preliminary data.

As researchers, entrepreneurs, inventors, and more, graduate students and graduate degree holders contribute to the resolution of complex social problems and advancement of our society. Thus, a robust growth of graduate education and the number of advanced degree holders in our nation’s labor force is essential to economic prosperity and continued global leadership of the United States. The most recent Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED:14), an annual census of research doctorate recipients conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF), reported that a total of 54,070 individuals earned a research doctorate at 426 US academic institutions between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014. This represents both the highest number in the survey’s history since 1957 and positive growth of earned doctorates for the fourth year in a row. Detailed characteristics of the doctoral recipients can be found in the recently released NSF report on SED:14, “Doctorate Recipients from US Universities: 2014,”and this article summarizes some key takeaways for graduate deans.

Citizenship

International graduate students continue to increase in their share of US earned doctorates. Nearly three out of ten (29%) doctoral recipients were temporary visa holders in 2014, compared to 22% a decade ago. Their presence is particularly robust in science and engineering (S&E) fields, as 40% of S&E doctorates were conferred to international students in 2014. However, their countries of origin are not as diverse; only three countries—China, India, and South Korea—accounted for more than one- half of all doctorates earned by international students in 2014. Moreover, the top ten sending countries constituted 70% of the doctorates earned (See Table 1).

The robust representation and continued growth of international graduate students does not come as a surprise, and will likely continue as pointed out in recent CGS reports on enrollment trends of international graduate students. Most of the recent growth in first-time graduate enrollment was driven by international students, with a particularly high concentration of them enrolled in S&E fields (Allum & Okahana, 2015). China and India continue to hold the largest shares of international graduate enrollment in the United States, and the largest share of South Korean students (47%) pursued doctorates (Okahana & Allum, 2015). While these statistics demonstrate the consistent appeal and desirability of US doctoral programs (Okahana & Allum, 2015), heavy reliance on a few selected countries of origin may pose vulnerability for long-term and sustainable enrollment planning for graduate institutions. Given the volatility of changes in first-time graduate enrollment seen in the results from the past CGS International Graduate Admissions Surveys, international recruitment strategies should look to diverse sets of countries.

Race/Ethnicity

International graduate students were not the only ones who increased their shares of US earned doctorates. Traditionally underrepresented minority (URM) students made gains in their attainment of research doctorates. Between 1994 and 2014, the proportion of doctorates awarded to Blacks/African Americans rose from 4.1% to 6.4%, while the proportion for Hispanics/Latinos nearly doubled, from 3.3% to 6.5% during the same time period (See Table 2). We anticipate this growth trend to continue, as first-time graduate enrollment of both Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American students are on the rise. According to the most recent CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees (GE&D), first-time graduate enrollment of Hispanic/Latino students and Black/African American students grew on average 6.0% and 5.2%, respectively, each year between 2004 and 2014 (Allum & Okahana, 2015).

However, not all URM populations gain their ground. According to the SED:14, there was no growth in the number of earned doctorates between Fall 2004 and Fall 2014 among American Indian/Alaska Native students (See Table 2). They were also the only ethnic and racial group that did not experience a decline in the number of doctorate holders who were also first- generation students between 1994 and 2014. This is consistent with the enrollment trend in the most recent GE&D report, which showed first-time graduate enrollment of American Indian/Alaska Native students declined by -0.6% annually between Fall 2004 and Fall 2014 (Allum & Okahana, 2015). The challenges that impact the enrollment and completion of doctoral education by American Indian/Alaska Native students are worth further exploration.

Gender and Field of Study

Over the past 20 years, the growth in the number of women awarded S&E doctorates has exceeded the growth in males earning S&E doctorates, as reported in the 2014 SED. Between 1994 and 2014, the number of men awarded S&E doctorates increased by 26% (nearly 5,000 more doctorates) while the number for female S&E doctorates increased by nearly 50% (at least 8,500 more doctorates). The fastest growing subfields of doctoral study for women over the past decade, according to the SED:14, were the physical sciences field with computer and information sciences as lead subfield, and engineering with materials science engineering as lead subfield. Though the gap between men and women in these two fields is still substantial (See Figure 1), this is an encouraging sign. The enrollment trends of women in these two fields also shed some positive light, as the average annual percent changes between 2009 and 2014, for first- time enrollment of women in engineering (2.6%) and mathematics and computer sciences (3.5%) surpassed that of men (1.7% and 1.8%, respectively) (Allum & Okahana, 2015).

Summary

The average annual growth in the number of doctorates awarded between 1957 and 2014 was 3.4%, a strong upward trend in spite of periods of slow growth and decline. The increase in earned research doctorates by individuals with traditionally underrepresented backgrounds is impressive and an encouraging and critical step in our pursuit of a more diverse, educated, and skilled workforce that is better prepared for a competitive global economy. However, there is still work to be done as attainment gaps between men and women, URMs and non- URMs, and within URM students persist. In the meantime, the NSF report, “Doctorate Recipients from US Universities: 2014,” offers other interesting insights about the most recent cohort of doctoral recipients, and we encourage you to explore the data.

By Hironao Okahana, Director, Statistical Analysis & Policy Research and Keonna Feaster, Program Manager, Best Practices, Council of Graduate Schools

References

National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2015. Doctorate Recipients from US Universities: 2014. Special Report NSF 16, Arlington, VA. Available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsf16300/

Okahana, H., & Allum, J. (2015). International graduate applications and enrollment: Fall 2015. Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools.

Allum, J., & Okahana, H. (2015). Graduate enrollment and degrees: 2004 to 2014. Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools.

​

Pressing Issues in 2016

In February of 2016, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) launched its annual Pressing Issues Survey which asked graduate deans at member institutions to identify the three most important or “pressing” issues or challenges they currently face. The findings from this survey not only inform the graduate community about the concerns of graduate deans, but also help shape sessions at the CGS Summer Workshop and Annual Meeting. These insights provide impetus for new CGS best practices projects and research initiatives.

The 2016 CGS Pressing Issues Survey was sent to 489 U.S. colleges and universities that were members of CGS as of January 2016. A total of 192 institutions responded to the survey, for a response rate of 39%. Recruitment, admissions, and enrollment management topped the list as the most pressing issue for graduate deans, followed closely by student financial support. Graduate school financing was ranked third with promoting diversity and inclusion and promoting career preparation of students and professional development tied for fourth.

The top pressing issue identified by almost one-half (46%) of graduate deans in the survey was recruiting students, enrollment management, etc. (see Table 1). This was a top pressing issue for master’s-focused and specialized institutions (60%) and the second most pressing issue for doctoral institutions (36%). Recruiting students, enrollment management, etc. was a top issue for private, not-for-profit institutions (58%) and the second most pressing issue for public institutions (42%).

Securing funds for stipends, research, etc. was the second most commonly mentioned pressing issue overall, with 44% of all respondents indicating this as an issue. This was the top pressing issue at doctoral institutions (51%) and the second most pressing issue at master’s focused and specialized institutions (35%). This was also the top pressing issue for graduate deans at public institutions (46%), and the second most pressing issue for their counterparts at private, not-for-profit institutions (38%).

Securing funds for the graduate school itself ranked third (27%) among the most pressing issues of graduate deans in early 2016. Graduate program financing was also the third top pressing issue among graduate deans at master’s-focused and specialized institutions (36%), but the fifth most pressing issue for their counterparts at doctoral institutions (21%). This was the third top pressing issue among public institutions (29%) and was tied for the third most pressing among private, not-for-profit institutions (21%).

Promoting diversity and inclusion and promoting career preparation of students, professional development, etc. tied for the fourth most pressing issue in the beginning of 2016 (21%). These were also both the fourth most pressing issues among graduate deans at doctoral institutions (28%). At the master’s-focused and specialized institutions, promoting diversity and inclusion tied as the ninth pressing issue (12%), with promoting career preparation follow closely behind in eleventh place (11%). Promoting diversity and inclusion was the fourth most pressing issue among public institutions (22%) while it was tied with four other issues as the seventh most pressing issue (17%) for private, not-for-profit institutions.

Pressing Issues in the Last Five Years

This is the fifth consecutive year where recruitment, admissions, and enrollment management; graduate student financing; and graduate program financing have all been reported as the top three pressing issues currently facing graduate deans. Over the last two years, there has been a shift in the top pressing issue. For both 2015 and 2016 the top pressing issue reported is recruitment, admissions, and enrollment management while for the previous two years, 2013 and 2014, graduate student financing was reported as the top pressing issue (see Table 2). Holding steady for the last five years, graduate program financing continues to be the third pressing issue reported by graduate deans.

An interesting trend that warrants further examination is that promoting diversity and inclusion has emerged as a new top pressing issue for 2016. This issue which has gradually been gaining momentum over the past five years, tied as the fourth pressing issue for 2016 (21%). The past several years saw minimal increases with this issue ranking as the 14th pressing issues in 2013 (4%), the 13th issue in 2014 (7%), and the 10th pressing issue in 2015 (11%). Finally, promoting diversity and inclusion broke the top five this year to be the fourth most pressing issue.

By Jeff Allum, Assistant Vice President, Research and Policy Analysis and K. Stone, Program Manager, Best Practices, Council of Graduate Schools

Introduction

Diversity in graduate education, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is an issue of critical importance to the graduate education enterprise, as well as scientific community in the United States. Although the progress has been made to advance participation of traditionally underrepresented minorities¹ (URMs) in STEM graduate education, a lack of parity remains in comparison to White, Asian, and international students. According to the most recent CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees (Allum & Okahana, 2015), 19% of the 2014 first-time graduate enrollments in STEM fields were URM students. In addition, the most recent Survey of Earned Doctorates (National Science Foundation, 2015) reported that 13% of all STEM doctorates conferred to U.S. citizens and permanent residents in 2014 were awarded to URM students. This is in contrast to the fact that 36% of the U.S. population between the ages of 25 and 34 are URMs (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). In the STEM workforce, the gap is more obvious as URMs comprise only 7% of the STEM doctoral workforce (National Science Board, 2015).

While overall enrollment of URM students in STEM fields is on the rise (Allum & Okahana, 2015), more needs to be done to ensure that the U.S. STEM workforce, including the professoriate, reflect the diversity of the communities which they serve and the nation as a whole. Also, studies on graduate education are much needed in order to address America’s national capacity to innovate and to prepare graduate students to compete on a global scale (Walker, Jones, Golde, Conklin Bueschel & Hutchings, 2008; Council of Graduate Schools and Educational Testing Service, 2010 and 2012; Gumport 2011).

With generous support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has embarked upon an effort to examine patterns of completion and attrition among URM doctoral students in STEM fields and to explore factors likely to affect their ability to complete their doctoral program. The project, Completion and Attrition in AGEP and non-AGEP Institutions (NSF grant #1138814), collected the largest dataset of its kind, encompassing student-level data and other qualitative data from twenty-one U.S. graduate schools with large STEM doctoral offerings (Sowell, Allum, & Okahana, 2015).

In April 2015 the selected findings from the project were release in a CGS publication, Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion (Sowell et al., 2015). Subsequently, findings and implications of the publication were discussed at the Spring 2015 CGS Research and Policy Forum, which was held in Washington, DC on May 28, 2015. This paper summarizes the proceeding from the forum, in which four authors of this paper participated as speakers. The paper begins with a discussion of URM STEM doctoral completion and attrition rates and programs and initiatives aimed at facilitating success of URM STEM doctoral students, followed by a discussion on directions for future research, and concluding remarks.

National Benchmark for URM STEM Doctoral Completion

As a benchmarking tool, Sowell et al. (2015) is one of the most robust resources available to U.S. graduate schools to describe URM STEM doctoral completion. According to the data collected as a part of the project, the ten-year degree completion rate for URM students in STEM fields was 54% (Sowell, et al., 2015). Although this is not a direct comparison, the result is very close to the 55% ten-year completion rate for all domestic students in STEM fields reported in the  CGS’ PhD Completion project (Sowell, Zhang, Bell, & Redd, 2008). While the participation of URM students in STEM doctoral programs lags behind non-URM students, the data in aggregate suggests that once URM students are in doctoral programs, their success is equally as likely as that of non-URM students.

It is important to highlight the fact that within the URM student body, completion rates varied by student characteristics, such as gender, race/ethnicity, broad fields of study, and prior master’s degree status. For example, URM women had a higher STEM doctoral completion rate than their male counterparts (56% and 52%, respectively), and Hispanic/Latino students had a higher STEM doctoral completion rate than their Black/African American counterparts (58% and 50%, respectively). Even after controlling for broad fields of study and prior master’s degrees awarded, these differences between men and women, and Black/African American students and Hispanic/Latino students appear to persist.² Findings of this project corroborate much of the prior literature, which tends to focus on URM educational attainment up to the baccalaureate level (See College Board, 2010, Lee & Ransom, 2011, Harper, 2006 for examples), suggesting that men and Black/African Americans are among the more vulnerable subsets of the URM population in terms of educational attainment.

Figure 1: 10-year Doctoral Completion Rates of URM STEM Students³

The CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees collects data on graduate applications received, graduate applications accepted, and first-time graduate enrollment. When combined, these data could be used to estimate both selectivity and yield, but CGS’ annual reports have not traditionally performed such calculations. Using data on the number of graduate applications accepted and the number of graduate students enrolled for the first-time for all years between Fall 2010 and Fall 2014, CGS estimated yield rates at the master’s/certificate level (including graduate certificate and education specialist programs) and doctoral level. In fact, data from the survey estimate that among all prospective master’s/certificate students whose applications to public institutions with very high research activity (RU/VH) were accepted, 55% actually enrolled in Fall 2014. By comparison, 42% of prospective doctoral students whose applications were accepted by public RU/VH institutions enrolled in Fall 2014.

Although the survey collects data for 50 disciplines (e.g., Chemistry, English, Religion, & Theology, etc.), this article focuses on disciplines within three of the largest broad fields of study (business, education, health and medical sciences). These three fields of study account for 43% of all graduate applications received in Fall 2014 and 48% of all first-time graduate enrollment in Fall 2014. Moreover, these three broad fields of study exhibited somewhat different first-time graduate enrollment patterns in the years immediately following the Great Recession (Allum & Okahana, 2015). While first-time graduate enrollment in the broad field of education declined dramatically, first-time graduate enrollment in business continued to grow (although at a slower rate), while analysis suggest several differences in yield accordingly. Education featured prominently among the highest yield rates of 2014 at both the master’s/certificate and doctoral levels. Seven different education fields (administration; curriculum & instruction; educational evaluation and research; education, other; elementary education; secondary education; and special education) were featured in the 15 highest master’s/ certificate yields of 2014 (see Table 1).

Among the three business disciplines, the yield in accounting (65%) was among the highest among master’s/certificate programs in Fall 2014, while business administration & management, by far the largest master’s/ certificate discipline within the broad field of business, reported a yield of 58%, slightly higher than the overall master’s/certificate yield of 55%. The 55% yield in health and medical sciences master’s/certificate programs for Fall 2014 was roughly in the middle one- third of all yields, and exactly the same as the 55% average across all 50 disciplines.

When examining the percent changes in yield between Fall 2010 and Fall 2014 at the master’s/certificate level, elementary education was the only education discipline to report the largest decrease in yield, an eight percentage point decline, from 65% in Fall 2010 to 57% in Fall 2014. However, six education master’s/certificate disciplines reported among some of the largest increases in yield among all fields. For example, the yield in education administration increased nine percentage points between Fall 2010 (52%) and Fall 2014 (61%). Despite only having a 5% increase in yield from Fall 2010 to Fall 2014, banking and finance was among the disciplines with the highest increase in yield at the master’s/certificate level. Finally, there was a six percentage point decrease in yield between Fall 2010 and Fall 2014 in health and medical science master’s/certificate programs (from 61% in Fall 2010 to 55% in Fall 2014).

Doctoral Yields

There were some noteworthy patterns at the doctoral level as well. Three education fields (curriculum & instruction; education, other; and educational evaluation and research) were among the doctoral programs with highest yields in 2014, ranging from 66% for curriculum and instruction to 56% for education, other (see Table 2). With a 61% yield, business administration & management was among the top three disciplines in terms of yield at the doctoral level. At 56%, the yield for doctoral programs in health and medical sciences was among the top six, and 14 percentage points higher than the 42% first-time graduate enrollment in health and medical sciences increased at a steady rate (see Figure 1).

Master’s/Certificate Yields

Among the three broad fields of study, the number of graduate students enrolled for the first-time in master’s/certificate programs during Fall 2014 (39,503) outnumbered the number of students enrolled for the first-time in doctoral programs (6,421) by a margin of more than six to one, and data from this  average yield across all 50 disciplines.

There were also some noteworthy patterns in yields between Fall 2010 and Fall 2014 at the doctoral level. Education administration saw an increase in yield of 15% between Fall 2010 and Fall 2014. This was the fifth largest increase in yield among all doctoral disciplines. Banking and finance had a 23% increase in yield from Fall 2010 to Fall 2014, which was third highest among all doctoral programs. Among health and medical sciences, there was a six percent increase in yield between Fall 2010 and Fall 2014, from 49% to 56%.

Summary

This first glance at yields sheds light on some of the noteworthy variations by discipline and degree objective among public universities with very high research activity (RU/VH), and it is reasonable to expect that variations in yield among other groups of institutions exist as well. While many of us within the graduate enterprise might wonder about correlations between yield, selectivity, enrollment, and completion, it is worth noting that some of these data may already exist and, if put to use in the right way, might continue to advance graduate education.

By Jeff Allum, Assistant Vice President, Research and Policy Analysis and Kenneth Polishchuk, Best Practices Associate, Council of Graduate Schools

References

Allum J., & Okahana, H. (2015). Graduate enrollment and degrees: 2004-2014.Washington, D.C.: Council of Graduate Schools.

​Data Sources PLUS: Supporting Students of Color on the Pathway to Graduate Education

December 2016

This paper summarizes the proceedings of the spring 2016 CGS Research and Policy Forum, where Dr. Linda DeAngelo, assistant professor of higher education at the University of Pittsburgh spoke about the roles of faculty mentorship in facilitating graduate school aspirations of students of color. Implications for institutional culture around mentorship are discussed.

Data Sources: A New Take on Graduate Applications, Enrollments, and Degrees: Differences among Selected NCAA Division I-A Football Conferences

October 2016

The recently released Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2005 to 2015 (Okahana, Feaster, & Allum, 2016) report provides a comprehensive look at master’s and research doctoral enrollment in the United States. The results from the survey are portrayed in the report in a variety of ways, including breakdowns by student and institutional characteristics. Since the college football season has recently started, this article compares applications, offers of admission, and first-time graduate enrollment by NCAA Division I-A football conferences. There are currently nine NCAA Division I-A conferences containing at least five CGS member institutions. Two Division I-A conferences, Conference USA and FBS Independents, did not have five responding institutions and were therefore not included in this analysis.

Data Sources: First-Time International Graduate Enrollment in Master’s & Certificate Programs by U.S. Region and States of Graduate Institutions

July 2016

Graduate programs at U.S. institutions continue to enjoy robust enrollment growth among international students pursuing both master’s and doctoral degrees according to the 2015 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) International Graduate Admissions Survey. This brief explores the 2015 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey for the first-time international graduate student enrollment in master’s/certificate programs by U.S. regions and states and highlights key findings.

​Data Sources: Highlights from the 2016 CGS Pressing Issues Survey

April 2016​

In February of 2016, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) launched its annual Pressing Issues Survey which asked graduate deans at member institutions to identify the three most important or “pressing” issues or challenges they currently face. The findings from this survey not only inform the graduate community about the concerns of graduate deans, but also help shape sessions at the CGS Summer Workshop and Annual Meeting. These insights provide impetus for new CGS best practices projects and research initiatives.

Data Sources: Key Takeaways from the 2014 Survey of Earned Doctorates
March 2016​

As researchers, entrepreneurs, inventors, and more, graduate students and graduate degree holders contribute to the resolution of complex social problems and advancement of our society. Thus, a robust growth of graduate education and the number of advanced degree holders in our nation’s labor force is essential to economic prosperity and continued global leadership of the United States. The most recent Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED:14), an annual census of research doctorate recipients conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF), reported that a total of 54,070 individuals earned a research doctorate at 426 US academic institutions between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014. This represents both the highest number in the survey’s history since 1957 and positive growth of earned doctorates for the fourth year in a row. Detailed characteristics of the doctoral recipients can be found in the recently released NSF report on SED:14, “Doctorate Recipients from US Universities: 2014,”and this article summarizes some key takeaways for graduate deans.

Data Sources PLUS: Implications for Practice and Research from Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion
March 2016

This paper summarizes the proceedings of the spring 2015 CGS Research and Policy Forum, where findings and implications of a CGS publication, Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion were discussed. As a benchmarking tool, the publication serves as one of the most robust resources available to U.S. graduate schools to describe URM STEM doctoral completion, and it also helps institutions make a case for continuing programing that are aimed to facilitate success of URM STEM doctoral students.

Data Sources: A Glimpse at Yield Rates at Public RU/VH Institutions 
February 2016

The CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees collects data on graduate applications received, graduate applications accepted, and first-time graduate enrollment. When combined, these data could be used to estimate both selectivity and yield, but CGS’ annual reports have not traditionally performed such calculations.

Humanities Indicators

November 30, 2016

The Humanities Indicators Project is a project of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences that provides the latest data on humanities trends in five broad areas: K-12 education, higher education, workforce, funding & research, and public life. Occupations and earnings data of humanities PhD and master’s degree recipients, in relation and comparison to those of select other broad fields of study, were discussed in this forum. 

• Robert B. Townsend, American Academic of Arts & Sciences.

Highlights from the 2015 CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees

August 30, 2016

The 2015 CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees provides data about applications for admission to graduate school and graduate student enrollment in Fall 2015, and graduate degrees and certificates conferred in 2014-15. The survey has been jointly conducted by CGS and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board since 1986 and annually offers one of the most comprehensive examinations of trends in graduate enrollment and degrees in the United States

• Keonna Feaster & Hironao Okahana, Council of Graduate Schools

Supporting Students of Color on the Pathway to Graduate Education: Barriers and Supports on Mentoring

May 18, 2016

Faculty mentorship plays a critical role in facilitating graduate school aspirations among undergraduate students, particularly for students from traditional underrepresented minority backgrounds. This presentation defines what constitutes mentoring and how faculty members may be motivated to engage in mentoring activities. It also discusses some of the barriers against institutional environment and disciplinary culture that encourage and promote mentoring behavior among faculty. 

• Linda DeAngelo, University of Pittsburgh

Science & Engineering Indicators

March 17, 2016

The Science & Engineering Indicators report is one of the preeminent sources of information on education, labor market, and demographic characteristics of the science and engineering enterprise. The 2016 version, released earlier this year, contains not only a wealth of data, but is being delivered in an almost entirely electronic mode. Trends in graduate education and the academic labor market are the particular topics of focus for this presentation.

• Jaqui Falkenheim & Kathy Hale, National Science Foundation

2015 Annual Meeting Program

Selected PowerPoint presentations from the 2015 CGS 55th Annual Meeting are below. Presentations are in chronological order by each category. Presentations are offered as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. The file size is indicated after the name of each presenter.

Pre-Meeting Workshop Presentations

Legal Issues I
Tracy Greene and Tom Shanahan (967 KB)

Advocacy on Your Campus
R. William Ayres (307 KB)
Nancy Marcus (1.31 MB)

Empowering First-Generation and Underrepresented Students to Navigate Graduate School
Charles Ambler (581 KB)

Building Effective Career and Professional Development Programs: Connecting Students, Faculty and Institutional Needs and Outcomes
Henry Campa and Judith Stoddart (2.66 MB)

Fundraising as a Critical Instrument for Improving Graduate Education
Katie Busch (354 KB)

Enrollment Management
Jeffrey Bakken (199 KB)
Christopher Connor (4.18 MB)
Thomas Reynolds (735 KB)
Charles Taber (327 KB)

Post Docs
Jeffrey Engler, Susan Porter, and Elizabeth Watkins (199 KB)

Concurrent Sessions Presentations

Engaging Alumni to Enhance Student Experiences
Stephan Riek (6.03 MB)

Integrating Research, Teaching and Learning into the Preparation of Future Faculty: Lessons From CIRTL, PFF, and Other Initiatives
Karen Butler-Purry (268 KB)
Henry Campa (1.53 MB)
Wendi Heinzelman (385 KB)

Professional Development for Master's Careers
Jessica Horowitz (819 KB)
Jeffrey Potteiger (997 KB)
William Wiener (1.34 MB)

Planning for Changing Demographics: Lessons Learned from MSI's
Joseph Childers (354 KB)

Holistic Review of Graduate Applications: Lessons Learned From a CGS Best Practice Project
JoAnn Canales (574 KB)
Maureen McCarthy (694 KB)
James Wimbush (316 KB)

Understanding the Impact of International Graduate Experiences
Diana Carlin, Karen DePauw, and Henning Schroeder (1.40 MB)

Innovative Strategies for Securing Resources: A Focus on Master's Education
Ryan Hendrickson (207 KB)
Kathleen Kitto (2.78 MB)
Amy McCandless (1.54 MB)

Strategic Initiatives in Graduate Education at the National Science Foundation
Brian Mitchell, Gisèle Muller-Parker, Rick Tankersley, and Roger Wakimoto (2.37 MB)

PhD Career Pathways: Instruments and Tools
Sheryl Tucker (1.03 MB)

Master's Admissions Processes
Maria Di Stefano (1.32 MB)
Susan Morgan (765 KB)

Results from the Enhancing Student Financial Education Project
Scott Herness (790 KB)
Andrew Sustich (1.53 MB)

Accessibility and Inclusion in Graduate Programs
Susan Cozzens (936 KB)

Paths to Prestige: Alternative Models for Master's Institutions
Jackie Eller (1.12 MB)
Joan Ficke (2.64 MB)

Future of the Doctorate in the Humanities
James Grossman (202 KB)
Heather Zwicker (218 KB)

Plenary Sessions Presentation

What Employers Know, What Employers Need: Relationships that Work
Sarah Pratt (215 KB)
Desney Tan (947 KB)

Sponsored Breakfast Presentation

Presentation from ProQuest Breakfast
Austin McLean and Marlene Coles (872 KB)

Presentation from Educational Testing Service Breakfast
David Payne (1.44 MB)