​

​​Project Overview

In its role as a convening authority on issues that affect graduate education, CGS is advancing the 2016 Project on the Master’s Degree by engaging two groups of graduate deans to advance research based on the current and future status of the degree. Both groups will focus on creating a current conceptual framework and an envisioned future for the master’s degree informed by data. While the project is still in its initial planning stages, CGS ultimately plans to attract financial partners to realize its full scope and impact. The 2004-2014 CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees reported that master’s degree candidates comprise 73.1% of the total graduate enrollment and that more than 1.27 million students were pursuing this degree (Allum & Okahana, 2015). These key metrics establish the project’s value to graduate education and verify its importance to our members. These are the leadership groups who are guiding the project.

​​Project Initiation

The Project began with study of three key variables: the definitional components, degree competencies, and standards of excellence that interact to create the degree’s structural framework. An additional variable currently under consideration is the networking element that aligns the degree to its workforce value. The teams and their project assignments are outlined below.

​​Colloquium on the Alignment Framework for the Master’s Degree

A Colloquium on the Alignment Framework for the Master’s Degree took place on Tuesday, October 18, 2016.  Deans who had been involved in the design of the framework engaged in a rich and robust discussion with a diverse group of stakeholders from outside the university.  The group identified aspects of the framework that will guide our future work to ensure high quality master’s degrees. PowerPoint presentations from the meeting can be found here and here. To access a CGS webinar on the project as well as the slide presentation used, please go here and here. Also see CGS's State Snapshots for more infortmation on Master's Education. 

Staff Contact: Bob Augustine

Workshop Proceedings, Social Media Offer New Picture of Issues on the Horizon

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

Washington, D.C. — On January 27-28, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) convened approximately 40 scholars and leaders in graduate education, scholarly publishing, academic libraries, and disciplinary associations to deliberate the future of the doctoral dissertation.  Over a two-day workshop supported by ProQuest, the group considered trends shaping the format and dissemination of dissertation research, including new modes of scholarly communication and publication, open access, emerging technologies, diversifying PhD career paths, and changes in disciplinary cultures.

Brief papers prepared and circulated ahead of the workshop enabled attendees to focus on big-picture questions affecting the enterprises of scholarly communication and graduate education, including:

• What is a dissertation? What is its purpose? Who are its audiences?
• What skills are or should be gained as a result of writing a dissertation?
• What new dissertation formats should be considered?
• How should dissertation research be archived, accessed, and disseminated?
• What is the role of the dissertation in the employment marketplace?

These questions contributed to a wide-ranging conversation about why the dissertation exists and whom it serves. For some participants, the dissertation is of primary importance to the student-author and an opportunity to build skills, demonstrate expertise, and earn a credential. For others, the main audience of the dissertation is the student’s committee or the disciplinary community. Still others wondered whether the dissertation should contribute something of value to society at large.

By the workshop’s conclusion, it was clear that the many futures of the dissertation depend on the purpose of doctoral education as a whole. In her closing remarks, CGS President Suzanne Ortega shared her view that the goal of graduate education is to educate “individuals who can ask and answer questions of importance.” For Dr. Ortega, the dissertation represents both students’ “demonstration of the capacity to utilize the tools (theoretical, methodological) of their discipline to identify and address a relevant question” and an “opportunity to develop a set of intellectual skills and habits of mind that have broad utility.”

Austin McLean, Director, Scholarly Communication and Dissertations Publishing at ProQuest said, “We are delighted to support this workshop related to the future of dissertations, an area of great significance to ProQuest.  Dissertations make an important contribution to the scholarly record, raise the profile of an institution and their authors, and are vital tools for researchers of all fields in all countries.  By convening this important conversation about the future of the dissertation, the Council of Graduate Schools is ensuring that graduate education will continue to produce graduates with valuable skills needed as part of a 21^st century workforce.”

Proceedings may be accessed at http://cgsnet.org/cgs-future-dissertation-workshop and the parallel conversation that emerged during the workshop on Twitter may be found at #DissFwd. The event was the capstone of a CGS Best Practice project on the Future of the Doctoral Dissertation. 

Nominations for the 2022 award will be accepted until August 31, 2022. 

Description

Created by the CGS Board of Directors to recognize outstanding leadership in graduate education, this award is given annually to an individual who exemplifies the leadership qualities of the Council’s fifth president, Debra W. Stewart. The selection committee gives serious consideration to nominees with a strong reputation for ethics and integrity, a history of active participation in the graduate community, and a record of strategic vision and actions resulting in meaningful impacts in areas such as, but not limited to, evidence-based innovation, program development, diversity and inclusion, student learning and career outcomes, personnel management, policy advocacy in support of graduate education and research, and fiscal responsibility.

Eligibility

• The current graduate dean (IHE1) at any CGS “Regular” or “Associate” member institution is eligible to be nominated for the award. 
• Members of the CGS Board of Directors are not eligible to be nominated for the award during active years of board service.
• Please see the Frequently Asked Questions provided in the Call for Nominations for additional considerations.

How to Submit a Nomination Package: A complete nomination package includes the following five components:

• A completed nomination form;  
• 300-word summary of the nominee’s achievements in the relevant areas of leadership; 
• The nominee’s curriculum vitae (5 pages maximum);
• Signed letter of endorsement from the president or provost at the nominee’s institution; and 
• Three additional letters of recommendation supporting the nomination. A combination of internal letters (submitted by individuals at the nominee’s home institution) and external letters is encouraged. Letters should be addressed to the “DWS Award Selection Committee.”

Note: The nomination package must be as a single pdf document to Anna M. Naranjo. Mailed or faxed paper submissions will not be accepted.

Contact

Anna M. Naranjo

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

Washington, D.C. — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today released a report that outlines the findings of a year-long research project on holistic graduate admissions. Supported by Hobsons, the project takes a look at emerging best practices and surveys more than 500 university admissions professionals to better understand the current state of graduate admissions at U.S. institutions.

Around the country, colleges and universities are adopting holistic graduate admissions processes in response to research finding that quantitative measures of student merit, such as standardized test scores and GPA, may not accurately predict success in graduate school and may disadvantage underrepresented, non-traditional, and older students. Holistic review, also known as whole-file or comprehensive review, considers a broad range of characteristics, including noncognitive and personal attributes, when reviewing applications. Higher education leaders consider holistic review a promising practice for achieving diverse cohorts of students with varied experience, backgrounds, and expertise.

“This is an opportune moment for graduate schools and programs to prepare to re-evaluate their admissions processes, as graduate institutions await the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Fisher II and continue to grapple with what it means to create inclusive campuses,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “This timely report provides context and guidance for graduate schools and their institutional partners.”

Holistic Review in Graduate Admissions reports the results of a survey of over 500 universities on their current practices and emerging needs in graduate admissions; a two-day intensive workshop of researchers, graduate deans, admissions professionals and other experts; and a review of the scholarly literature. The study surfaces promising practices and recommendations for graduate institutions seeking to learn more about or to implement holistic admissions processes, and provides an overview of existing resources for institutions.

Among the report’s key findings:

• Decentralized graduate admissions processes pose special challenges for implementing holistic review.
• More data is needed: 81 percent of graduate school staff respondents called for more data that demonstrate the link between admissions criteria and student success in graduate school.
• Articulating their diversity objectives and tying them to the missions of their institutions will make it easier for graduate schools to build a compelling case for the need to review admissions practices.
• Holistic review is widely viewed as a useful strategy for improving diversity of higher education; early evidence also suggests that holistic admissions processes are associated with improved student outcomes.
• The graduate education community would benefit from a clearer understanding of what constitutes a truly “holistic” graduate admissions process for master’s and doctoral candidates.
• 58 percent of all survey respondents reported that limited staff and faculty time is the greatest barrier to performing more holistic admissions processes.

The report recommends deliberately tying admissions processes to institutional and program missions and emphasizes the importance of data-driven decisions. It also encourages universities to ensure that all students, once admitted, are provided learning environments that make it possible for them to succeed.

“While academic achievements are important, we know that long-term student success depends on a variety of factors that make up a whole person,” said Stephen M. Smith, President of Advising and Admissions Solutions at Hobsons. “We’re proud to support the work of CGS to increase access to graduate education and improve graduate student outcomes by helping institutions find applicants who are the right fit during the admissions process and then to provide support on campus until they reach their goals.”

A complimentary copy of the report can be accessed at http://cgsnet.org/innovation-graduate-admissions-through-holistic-review.

The following reports summarize the findings of the CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey:

​The CGS Future of the PhD Dissertation workshop convened top leaders in graduate education, publishing, library science, professional associations, and other experts to discuss the forces changing doctoral dissertations and how they might affect the future. Our goal was to identify key areas in need of further study and places where universities are in need of further guidance. Follow #DissFwd on Twitter to engage in CGS-led discussions about the future of the doctoral dissertation, now through February 2016. 

CGS Future of the Dissertation Workshop Agenda

January 28-January 29, 2016

Glover Park Room | The Dupont Circle Hotel | Washington, DC

Thursday, January 28

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.              Continental Breakfast                                             

9:00 – 9:15 a.m.              Welcome: Three Forces of Change

Suzanne Ortega, President, Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)

9:15 – 11:00 a.m.             Trends in Scholarly Communication

A Brief History of Doctoral Discourse

Christopher Loss, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Higher Education, Associate Professor of History, Vanderbilt University

Current Usage of Dissertations

Cassidy Sugimoto, Associate Professor of Informatics, Indiana University

​Austin McLean, Director, Scholarly Communication and Dissertations Publishing, ProQuest USA

Moderator: M. J. T. (Mark) Smith, Dean of the Graduate School; Birck Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University

11:00 – 11:15 a.m.            Morning Break

11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.    The View from Scholarly Presses and Journals

John Sherer, Spangler Family Director, University of North Carolina Press

Gita Manaktala, Editorial Director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press

Greg Britton, Editorial Director, Johns Hopkins University Press

Moderator: Nancy Marcus, Dean, The Graduate School, Florida State University

12:45 – 2:00 p.m.              Lunch -- Capitol Room

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.               Open Access and Institutional Repositories

Mary Molinaro, Chief Operating Officer and Service Manager, Digital Preservation Network

Lisa Schiff, Technical Lead, Access & Publishing Group, California Digital Library, University of California Office of the President

Moderator: Brenda Brouwer, Vice-Provost and Dean, School of Graduate Studies, Queens University; President, Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS)

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.               Afternoon Break

3:15 – 4:45 p.m.               Opportunities created by Emerging Technologies

Katina Rogers, Deputy Director, Futures Initiative and HASTAC@CUNY at the Graduate Center, City University of New York

Carol Tenopir, Chancellor’s Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Tara McPherson, Associate Professor, Gender Studies and Critical Studies, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California

Moderator: Steve Matson, Dean, The Graduate School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

4:40 – 6:30 p.m.                Evening Break

6:30 – 8:00 p.m.                Dinner -- Capitol Room

Friday, January 29

8:00 – 8:30 a.m.                Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:50 a.m.                The Future of the Dissertation in the Humanities

Sidonie Smith, Mary Fair Croushore Professor of the Humanities, University of Michigan

Paul Yachnin, Dept of English and Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas, McGill and Director of Future Humanities 2—the TRaCE project

Moderator: John Stevenson, Dean, the Graduate School; Professor of English, University of Colorado, Boulder

9:50 – 11:10 a.m.             The Future of the Dissertation in the Social Sciences

Virginia R. Dominguez, Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor of Anthropology (and member of the Jewish Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Carribean Studies faculty), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Jennifer L. Hochschild, Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government and Professor of African and African American Studies, Harvard University

Moderator: Edelma Huntley, Dean-in-Residence, Council of Graduate Schools

11:10-11:20                        Morning Break

11:20 – 12:40 p.m.             The Future of the Dissertation in the Natural Sciences

Tom Rudin, Director, Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Alan Leshner, CEO Emeritus, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Moderator: Mohan Kankanhalli, Vice Provost (Graduate Education) and Professor of Computer Science, National University of Singapore

12:40 – 1:00 p.m.            Facilitating the Future of the Dissertation

Suzanne Ortega, President, CGS

​

77% of First-Time Graduate Students Are Enrolled in Master’s or Certificate Programs

Contact: Julia Kent

(202) 223-3791 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC —New data from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) provide an unprecedented picture of the degree objectives of international graduate students studying in the United States. As the only report of its kind to offer data on the current fall term, International Graduate Applications and Enrollment: Fall 2015 reports applications, admissions, and enrollments of international master’s, certificate, and doctoral students at U.S. colleges and universities.

Based on an annual survey of graduate institutions, the data show that the degree objectives of international applicants and enrollees vary widely by country of origin and field of study. Overall, however, nearly four out of five first-time enrollees are pursuing master’s or certificate programs. This finding contradicts a common assumption—that many if not most international graduate students come to the U.S. to pursue doctoral degrees.

Chinese and Indian students represented the largest share of first-time master’s and certificate enrollment for Fall 2015, together representing more than 7 out of 10 first-time enrollees in these programs. Indian students, for whom first-time enrollment has seen double-digit increases over the past three admission cycles, demonstrated the strongest interest, with nine out of every ten first-time graduate students enrolling in master’s degrees and certificates this fall semester.

By contrast, certain countries and regions demonstrated particularly strong first-time enrollment in doctoral programs: 47% of South Korean students, and 44% of students from the Middle East and North Africa enrolled in doctoral programs in Fall 2015. These groups not only diverge from the preferences of their peers of other nationalities, but also with trends in overall doctoral enrollment at U.S. institutions.  According to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees, which captured data from the previous year (2014), first-time doctoral enrollment for both international and domestic students constituted only 16.8% of all graduate enrollment.

CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega observed that the report’s findings demonstrate the strong reputation of U.S. master’s degrees outside the United States. “While doctoral programs and institutions have long been viewed as a major draw from international students, it is clear that international students also recognize the value of U.S. master’s education.” She added, “Master’s degrees are critical entry points for a wide variety of professions. International students are taking advantage of the skills and knowledge these programs offer in addition to the stellar doctoral training provided by U.S. institutions.”

Additional report findings can be found in the attached page of highlights and infographics.

About the survey and report

Conducted since 2004, the CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey tracks the applications and enrollments of international students seeking U.S. master’s and doctoral degrees. For the first time in 2015, institutions responding to the survey were asked to disaggregate their data for master’s and certificate programs and doctoral programs, yielding the only degree-level data currently available for graduate admissions and enrollments. Three hundred fifty U.S. graduate institutions who are members of CGS or its regional affiliates responded the 2015 survey.

Full Report

Media Kit

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​

​Summit Program and Compilation of Papers*

*Individual papers below have been updated and edited for the electronic proceedings.

We invite you to explore the electronic proceedings of the 2015 Global Summit, Implications of "Big Data" for Graduate Education. Panel summaries provide an overview of the papers and discussion, with individual papers accessible at the links below.

International Students Continue to Drive Growth

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

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today reported a 3.5% one-year increase in first-time graduate enrollment between Fall 2013 and Fall 2014—the largest since 2009. Institutions responding to the CGE/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees received more than 2.1 million applications for Fall 2014, extended over 850,000 offers of admission in Fall 2014, and enrolled nearly 480,000 incoming, first-time graduate students in fall 2014 graduate certificate, education specialist, master’s or doctoral programs—all new highs.

CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega emphasized that enrollment growth is critical to meeting the needs of the U.S. economy. “The increase in overall enrollments is good news, but the disparity between U.S. and international growth is a cause for concern.”

Ortega pointed to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting employers to add nearly 2.4 million jobs requiring a graduate degree or higher between 2012 and 2022. At this rate, Ortega said, additional master’s and doctoral degree holders are needed to make that projected result possible. “Greater investments in graduate education and research—supporting both domestic and international students—will be required to keep up with the demand for graduate level talent in the future,” Ortega said.

The contributions of international graduate students are becoming increasingly important to the U.S. graduate education enterprise. From 2004 to 2014, international students accounted for over two-thirds of the growth in first-time enrollment headcounts at U.S. graduate institutions. Furthermore, international students are more likely than their domestic counterparts to study in STEM fields. In Fall 2014, 65.9% of all temporary resident graduate students were enrolled in biological and agricultural sciences, engineering, mathematics and computer sciences, physical and earth sciences, or social and behavioral sciences. In contrast, only 27.1% of U.S. citizen/permanent resident graduate students were enrolled in these fields.

Other report findings include: 

Findings by field

• Applications to graduate programs in business increased 5.4% between Fall 2013 and Fall 2014.
• The largest one-year changes in graduate applications between Fall 2013 and Fall 2014 occurred in mathematics and computer sciences (22.0%) and engineering (10.5%).
• In terms of first-time enrollment, the fastest-growing fields were mathematics and computer science and engineering, growing at 21.3% and 10.7%, respectively, between Fall 2013 and Fall 2014.  
• First-time enrollment in education programs decreased 1.3% for Fall 2014.
• The largest fields by total enrollment were education and business, respectively accounting for 19% and 15% of total graduate enrollment at responding institutions in Fall 2014.

Findings by degree level

• Three-quarters (73.1%) of all graduate students in Fall 2014 were enrolled in programs leading to a master’s degree or a graduate certificate, according to survey respondents.
• Responding institutions awarded approximately 73,000 doctoral degrees, 526,000 master’s degrees, and 36,000 graduate certificates in 2013-14.
• Between Fall 2013 and Fall 2014, first-time enrollment increased by 1.9% at the doctoral-level and increased by 3.7% at the master’s-level.

Student demographics

• Nearly six in ten (57.9%) of all first-time graduate students in Fall 2014 were women, according to survey respondents.
• According to survey respondents, women earned nearly two-thirds (65.9%) of the graduate certificates, 59.0% of the master’s degrees, and 52.2% of the doctorates. Academic year 2013-14 marked the sixth straight year women earned a majority of doctoral degrees.
• Nearly one quarter (24.2%) of all first-time graduate students who were U.S. citizens and permanent residents were from racially/ethnically underrepresented populations. Although there were increases in first-time graduate enrollment between Fall 2013 and Fall 2014 among Hispanics/Latinos (6.8%) and Blacks/African Americans (2.0%), there was a 3.0% decline among American Indians/Alaska Natives.

About the report

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2004 to 2014 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, which includes responses from 636 institutions, presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for fall 2014, degrees conferred in 2013-14, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods.

CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute Final Program

Selected PowerPoint presentations from the 2015 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 II: Running a Graduate Organization: Nuts and Bolts
Karen Butler-Purry (290 KB)
Paul Gemperline (165 KB)

Session III: Budget and Staff Management Strategies
Barbara Knuth (260 KB)
Max Poole (421 KB)
James Wimbush (296 KB)

Session IV: Graduate Admissions and Financing Overview
Nancy Marcus (2.88 MB)
Carol Shanklin (1,004 KB)

Session V: Advocacy 101
Steven Matson (961 KB)

Summer Workshop Presentations

Plenary I: Is the Master's the New Baccalaureate?
Philippe-Edwin Bélanger (1.10 MB)
Kinchel Doerner (390 KB)
James Goodnight (601 KB)

Plenary Follow-On: The Role of Master's Education in Regional Economic Development
Janet Rutledge (210 KB)
James Sterling (984 KB)

ProQuest Breakfast Meeting
Austin McLean (1.77 MB)

Plenary II: Making the Case for Graduate Education with Your President and Board
Paul Ferguson (210 KB)

ETS Breakfast Meeting
David Payne (1.39 MB)

Plenary III: Graduate Education and the Changing Legal Landscape
Mackenzie Wilfong (2.95 MB)

Innovations in Graduate Professional Development: Lessons Learned form the BEST Program
George Roger Chalkley (542 KB)
Barbara Knuth (2.23 MB)
Patricia Labosky (586 KB)
Ambika Mathur (898 KB)

Technical Workshop: Advocacy: Getting Beyond Awareness and Taking Action
Maureen Grasso (596 KB)
John Keller (259 KB)