By Hironao Okahana and Christian P.L. West

According to the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), applications for admission to master’s programs increased by 1.4% and for doctoral programs by 4.1% between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018, while first-time enrollment in these programs grew by 2.0% and 2.9%, respectively (Okahana & Zhou, 2019a). Despite recent declines in international graduate enrollment (Okahana & Zhou, 2019a & 2019b), overall graduate enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities continues to grow, albeit modestly. This is not surprising as workforce demands for graduate degree holders are still growing in the United States. Jobs that require master’s degrees and doctoral degrees at the entry are expected to rise by 13.7% and 9.0% between 2018 and 2028, respectively (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019).   

To gain insights about how graduate schools and programs are working to respond to this growing need for graduate degree holders, CGS collaborated with NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management to survey graduate enrollment management (GEM) professionals at U.S. and Canadian based institutions. Of the 167 respondents to the survey, 47.3% of GEM professionals reported that their institution or program has a robust enrollment growth target - 10% or more. In this brief, we discuss some of the insights gathered from this survey of GEM professionals.  

Key Findings

• In addition to the national labor market and workforce demands, GEM professionals in the survey whose units have robust enrollment growth targets cited the importance of the reputation and ranking of the program/institution; availability of scholarship/fellowships; and campus/program climate as factors influencing decision to grow. The importance of these factors varied by specific institutional characteristics, including the Carnegie classification and public-private status. For example, regional and local labor market and workforce needs were more important at public institutions than their private counterparts. (Figure 1)

Figure 1.

Data Source: NAGAP, The Association for Graduate Enrollment Management & Council of Graduate Schools, Survey of Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals, Summer 2019.

• GEM professionals also cited increased resources such as additional full-time professional staff, implementation of a customer relations management system, institution-wide enrollment management strategy, and a dedicated budget for marketing and travel as critical to their ability to meet enrollment goals. (Table 1)

Table 1.

• Also, GEM professionals identified the reputation of the program/institution, campus climate, admission policies, and resources for recruitment as the top factors in their ability to increase the diversity of their incoming student body. (Figure 2)

Figure 2.

Data Source: NAGAP, The Association for Graduate Enrollment Management & Council of Graduate Schools, Survey of Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals, Summer 2019.

Takeaway Points

• Internal and external factors contribute to the setting of robust enrollment increase targets. There are both push and pull factors between program/institutional strengths and national, regional, and local workforce demands. This underscores the importance of aligning the strength of graduate programs with national, regional, and local labor market needs.

• In qualitative survey responses, GEM professionals make a direct connection between enrollment goal setting and institutional infrastructure. The alignment of goals and resources may increase confidence among GEM professionals in their ability to achieve their enrollment goals.

• While GEM professionals have confidence in their ability to achieve their overarching graduate enrollment goals for their units, they acknowledge meeting diversity goals as a different challenge. Given the positive influence of the reputation of institutions and graduate programs, as well as campus climate cited by GEM professionals, successful diversity recruitment strategies appear to require broader participation of stakeholders beyond GEM professionals.

Conversation Starters for Graduate Deans

• How do your graduate school and graduate programs use local, regional, and national workforce projections to determine enrollment goals?

• What resources can your graduate school and graduate programs leverage to meet the enrollment goals for specific segments of the recruitment pipeline,e.g., masters, doctoral, professional, domestic, international?

• What strengths can your graduate school and graduate programs leverage to successfully recruit a more diverse graduate student population in recruitment? How do diversity goals align with overall enrollment goals, strategies, and resource allocations?

Additional Resources

• Graduate Enrollment Trends:  CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees and CGS International Graduate Admission Survey provide yearly snapshots and trends in graduate applications and enrollment across all fields of master’s and doctoral programs. Beyond the published report, requests for custom data reports can be made to CGS.

• The Outlook of the Workforce Needs: O*NET OnLine is an online tool for career exploration and job analysis sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. The web tool offers detailed insights, including projections of workforce needs and education and training needs for each occupation by the Standard Occupational Classification. Additional data may also be available via state and regional workforce development boards.

• Guides for Holistic Graduate Admissions: Two recent CGS projects: Innovation in Graduate Admissions through Holistic Review (supported by Hobsons) and Master’s Admission Attribute Study (supported by ETS) offer insights for promising practices in graduate admissions and enrollment management. NAGAP, The Association for Graduate Enrollment Management also offers the Holistic Admissions Resource Guide, as well as there are other efforts, such as Inclusive Graduate Education Network offers workshops for inclusive admissions practices.

References:

Okahana, H., & Zhou, E. (2019a). Graduate enrollment and degrees: 2008 to 2018. Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools.

Okahana, H., & Zhou, E. (2019b). International graduate applications and enrollment: Fall 2018. Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Table 5.2 Employment, wages, and projected change in employment by typical entry-level education (Employment in thousands). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/education-summary.htm.

About the Data Source:

The 2019 NAGAP/CGS Survey of Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals was developed by CGS, in consultation with NAGAP, and sent out to NAGAP members throughout July – August 2019. This brief is based on the deidentified, individual-level data file of 167 respondents. 91% of respondents voluntarily identified their institution and institutional characteristics were added to the data file using 2015 Carnegie Classification information. Analysis for this brief is based on a sample of 47.3% (N=79) institutions identifying a goal to increase overall enrollment by 10% or higher. These institutions break out into public Doctoral institutions (N=20), private Doctoral (N=12), public Masters institutions (N=10), and private Masters institutions (N=10).

Author Contribution and Acknowledgment

The brief was prepared by Hironao Okahana and Christian P.L. West. H.O. conceived and designed the project and data collection instrument, as well as supervised the analysis for this work. C.W. performed data cleaning and analysis, prepared the figures and table. Both authors discussed and contributed to the final brief. Suzanne T. Ortega, Enyu Zhou, Radomir Ray Mitic, and Janet Gao also provided feedback to earlier drafts of the brief. NAGAP, The Association for Graduate Enrollment Management provided feedback to earlier versions of the data collection instrument and administered the survey to its members. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this brief do not necessarily reflect the views of NAGAP.

“I crossed a threshold at a very young age in terms of my knowledge about death,’’ says Leigh Marshall, an MFA playwright in the Theater Arts Program at the University of Iowa. “It doesn’t mean there was any innocence lost per se, but it just means there was an acquisition of a certain type of knowing.” Marshall lost her father, Albert, to cancer at age 16 and this trauma was the foundation of her play Laterality, which debuted at the University of Iowa this past February.

Laterality is a story of twin brothers; one, Skinny, who is dying of lung cancer and the other, Blue, who is forced to take care of him in his final days. Blue struggles with substance abuse and ponders abandoning his dying brother. The relationship between the two brothers is complicated when they befriend a neighbor and poet who reframes their suffering as love and brotherhood. While the play is not autobiographical, it did grow out of Marshall’s experience caring for her father. “The play came out of what it was like to be in the room with somebody you love who is plugged into an oxygen machine,” she described. “You have to deal with these finalities and keep everything going. This play is me thinking about what really happens to the body when you have a galaxy of tumors inside of you and how that warps reality.”

Though Laterality was written over a decade of processing her father’s death, Marshall’s time at the University of Iowa has been instrumental in turning it from an idea into a reality. “One of the fortunate things about being an MFA playwright at Iowa, you’re given space, time and resources to devote the majority of your time to the writing of your plays.” Furthermore, the MFA program at Iowa gave Marshall the opportunity to work alongside and learn from other students from diverse backgrounds and with varied interests. This diversity was a significant reason why Marshall chose Iowa: “I wanted to collaborate with intellectually different writers with different viewpoints.”

Even though Laterality is in many ways a play exploring the finality of death, it is also a celebration of life. Marshall reflected that Skinny, the terminally ill brother, is alive throughout the play and that his emotions are central to the story. Impending death is an amplifier of emotion for Marshall, making the pursuit and presence of love more urgent. This urgency is reflected in Marshall’s work itself as well as the characters she creates. “Even in those rock bottom moments, the pursuit of love and the presence of love exists powerfully and in a very tangible way,” Marshall concluded. To learn more about Leigh Marshall, visit the University of Iowa website. 

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Image Credit: University of Iowa

For Immediate Release: October 9, 2019

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

Washington, D.C. — On October 4, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) convened the inaugural meeting of the CGS Employer Roundtable, a group of senior leaders representing employers of graduate degree holders in various fields and other higher education stakeholders.  The Employer Roundtable will advise CGS leadership on workforce issues and serve as the leading voice on graduate student workforce preparedness.

Graduate education plays a critical role in the success of the U.S. workforce and economy.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections indicate that occupations requiring at least a master’s degree for entry, including physician assistants, occupational therapists, mental health and substance abuse social workers, mathematicians, and computer and information research scientists, will grow at a much faster rate than occupations that call for less education.

“Strong connections between graduate schools and employers will help ensure that graduate schools continue to respond to rapidly changing workforce demands,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega.  “I’m thrilled that the industry leaders here today have joined CGS in this important national initiative.”

During the half-day meeting, the group’s discussion focused on four broad themes relevant to graduate education and the workforce:

• The present and future of work
• Industry-higher education collaboration
• Diversity and inclusion
• Advocating for graduate education

These themes guided a wide-ranging conversation that addressed how workforce trends are changing industries, how universities can support industry initiatives to recruit diverse talent, the key elements of successful industry-university collaborations, and how universities and employers can advocate for graduate education.

“Whether they’re in academia, the public sector or industry, graduate degree holders inspire innovation and solve complex problems.  We all have a stake in developing robust talent pipelines with individuals who are prepared to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century,” said Ron Townsend, executive vice president, Global Laboratory Operations, Battelle Memorial Institute and Roundtable member.

The Roundtable will convene again in early 2020.

###

PRESS RELEASE

EMBARGOED UNTIL: October 8, 2019, 12:01 a.m. EDT

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

Washington, DC — Today the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported that graduate applications (2.2%) and first-time graduate enrollment (2.1%) increased overall and across all institution types (Doctoral Highest, Higher, and Moderate Research Institutions and Master’s Colleges and Universities) for Fall 2018. While the overall numbers are on the rise, first-time graduate enrollment of international students continues to decline (-1.3%). The data are part of the latest CGS/GRE Graduate Enrollment & Degrees: 2008-2018 report.

“The increases in application and first-time enrollment rates for Fall 2018 after last year’s slowdown is encouraging news for graduate education. We’re especially pleased to see increases in first-time enrollment among Latinx (6.8%), Black/African American (3.5%), Asians/Pacific Islander (6.2%), and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.3%) graduate students,” said CGS President Suzanne Ortega. “However, we do take note of the continued decline in the number of international students pursuing graduate education in the U.S. As we move to an increasingly globalized economy and workforce, domestic students benefit from training alongside international students, who also make important contributions to graduate education and research and the U.S. economy.”

Enrollments Continue to Align with Fastest Growing Fields

Enrollment trends by broad field of study are consistent with data from the last two years. Between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018, the largest one-year gains in first-time enrollment by broad field of study were in mathematics and computer sciences (4.3%), health sciences (3.3%), and education (3.2%). In contrast, applications and first-time graduate enrollment in engineering over the same period declined 6.9% and 4.6%, respectively. These results are consistent with findings from CGS’s International Graduate Applications and Enrollment: Fall 2018 survey, indicating that the decline in engineering enrollment is largely driven by a decrease in international students.

“Between Fall 2008 and Fall 2018, first-time graduate enrollment in mathematics and computer sciences has increased 11.0% and health sciences by 6%. Based on our data, these are the fastest-growing fields in graduate education and many jobs within them require advanced degrees,” said Ortega. “The steady growth in first-time enrollment in these fields indicates graduate education’s continued alignment with recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data on employment projections. These findings suggest that incoming students recognize the expanding employment opportunities in these growing fields, as well as the role they play in driving innovation.

Institutions responding to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment & Degrees for Fall 2018 enrolled more than 1.8 million graduate students. Nearly three-quarters (73.9%) of total graduate enrollment was in master’s programs. Over one million of those graduate students, or 58.2%, were women. The three largest broad fields of study (business, education, and health sciences) were also the fields with the largest proportions of part-time graduate students (Business: 62.9%; Education: 51.2%; Health Sciences: 41.5%).

Other report findings are summarized below. 

Findings by Broad Field

• By broad field of study, the largest number of total applications for Fall 2018 were in engineering (284,512), business (278,775), and health sciences (270,580). These three broad fields alone accounted for 40.7% of all graduate applications for which the intended field of study was known in Fall 2018.
• Mathematics and computer sciences (4.3%) and health sciences (3.3%) reported the largest one-year gains in first-time graduate enrollment between Fall 2017 and 2018.
• The one-year change in first-time graduate enrollment in engineering was -4.6%, compared to -3.8% between Fall 2016 and 2017.

Findings by Degree Level

• The largest one-year percentage increases in doctoral applications were in mathematics and computer sciences (18.6%) and public administration and services (12.9%).
• The largest one-year percentage increases in the number of master’s applications were in social and behavioral sciences (9.3%) and mathematics and computer sciences (5.4%).
• Of the graduate certificates awarded in the 2017-2018 academic year, 62.0% were from public institutions, 33.7% from private, not-for-profits, and 4.4% from private, for-profit.

Findings by Student Demographics

• In Fall 2018, approximately 24.1% of all first-time U.S. citizens and permanent resident enrollees were underrepresented minorities. American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, and Hispanic/LatinX first-time graduate students remain particularly underrepresented in STEM fields.
• In Fall 2018, the majority of first-time graduate students at all degree levels were women – 59.7% at the master’s degree and certificate level and 54.4% at the doctoral level.
• Among first-time graduate enrollment, 80.2% were U.S. citizens and permanent resident graduate students in the Fall of 2018 and about 19.8% were international.
• International students comprised the largest share of first-time graduate students in mathematics and computer sciences (55.6%), followed closely by engineering (51.0%).

About the report

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2008 to 2018 presents the findings of an annual survey of U.S. graduate schools, co-sponsored by CGS and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board. It is the only annual national survey that collects data on graduate enrollment by all fields of study and is the only source of national data on graduate applications by broad field of study. The report includes responses from 589 institutions and presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for Fall 2018, degrees conferred in 2017-18, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods.

###

For Immediate Release
September 27, 2019

Contacts:
American Educational Research Association
Tony Pals, tpals@aera.net
(202) 238-3235, (202) 288-9333 (cell)

Council of Graduate Schools
Katherine Hazelrigg, khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 461-3888

AERA and CGS Awarded NSF Grant to Advance Academic Support for Open Science

Washington, D.C., September 27, 2019 – The American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) have received a collaborative grant from the National Science Foundation to convene higher education leaders, education researchers, and related scientists to advance academic support for open science.  

A multi-day conference to be held in summer 2020 at the AERA Convening Center will bring together approximately 30 leaders with collective expertise in scientific productivity, science professions, and higher education institutions. The goal of this intensive working conference is to address what counts as open science productivity and quality in non-traditional research products (e.g., data sharing, replication studies, registered reports). It is expected that the meeting will lead to actionable strategies that can be “tested” in institutions interested in rethinking performance metrics and modes of assessing scientific productivity beyond publication in highly ranked journals.

AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine and CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega will serve as co-chairs of the conference, uniting their longstanding interest in the academic and scientific workforce, issues of access and opportunity, transformation of scientific workforce demands in STEM fields, and what counts as valued and valuable scholarly productivity for this collaborative initiative. Their shared ambition for this initiative is to foster deeper consideration of measures of scholarly productivity in the institutions where the next generation of researchers are being trained, where science is organized, and where open science products are produced.     

“Over the last decade, discussions about open science and the opportunities and barriers of expanded access to and transparency in research have demonstrated the clear public interest in enabling a climate of access to information, including the underlying data, materials, measurements, and tools that warrant research,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “Through our partnership with CGS, this conference will advance the understanding of the impact of intellectual contributions of scientific research outcomes and products in non-traditional forms.”

CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega added: “We hope this conference will affect the trajectory of the scientific enterprise at large by better articulating how different forms of research outcomes and products may be valued and appreciated. We want to address how we measure the impact and intellectual contribution of research outcomes with non-traditional forms of scientific products, such as research data, parallel to more traditional deliverables. Although this initiative emphasizes science, it is directly applicable to the humanities, and we intend to pursue funding to support that work, as well.”

AERA and CGS plan to convene an advisory committee to provide guidance on the conference plan, agenda, and participants. Conference participants will represent a diversity of expertise, institutional affiliations, regional representation, and demographics.

# # #

As a doctoral student in geosciences at The Pennsylvania State University, Andrew Shaughnassy’s research focuses on how agriculture, specifically nitrate, can alter the structure of bedrock. When farmers use excessive amounts of fertilizer to stimulate crop growth, a surplus of nutrients, including nitrate, can develop in surface and groundwater. Drinking water with high levels of nitrates can cause harm, particularly for infants.

Shaughnessy’s research examines the effects of the elevated levels of nitrate on the bedrock weathering process. In particular, he’s investigating how the introduction of the mineral pyrite (found in some bedrock) will do. He’s discovered that pyrite can actually remove nitrates from groundwater, a kind of natural cleaning process. “Depending on the concentration of pyrite in the bedrock, our research could provide an appropriate strategy for individual farmers’ land management methods,” Shaughnessy said.

Shaughnassy was awarded a 2019 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to support his work. “I was very happy to receive the fellowship and felt it was a great honor to be selected,” said Shaughnessy, who hopes to become a professor and continue his research. To learn more about Andrew, visit the Penn State website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Image Credit: David Kubarek

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact

Katherine Hazelrigg, CGS: (202) 462-3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, D.C. – Leaders of graduate institutions from 16 countries across six continents recently agreed on a set of principles and practical actions supporting graduate student mental health and wellbeing.

The statement was released at the conclusion of the 13th Annual Global Summit on Graduate Education, “Cultural Contexts of Health and Well-being in Graduate Education,” co-hosted by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and the University of Manchester, with support from Educational Testing Service (ETS) and ProQuest. The Global Summit is an annual event designed to promote international best practices in master’s and doctoral education.

This year’s theme was chosen by an international steering committee to recognize the critical importance of graduate student mental health and wellbeing in a global context, a focus that can’t be answered using a single method or approach. Addressing these concerns while working to destigmatize mental health treatment has become a priority in the graduate education community, but to date, there has been no coordinated global effort to address this issue.

Summit participants shared examples and background on the national and international context of graduate student mental health and wellbeing in their countries and institutions.

Session topics addressed the organizational and administrative challenges to supporting graduate student mental health and wellbeing, including:

• Addressing national trends and perspectives in cultural attitudes, differences in terminology, current research, legal contexts, demographic differences, and health care systems;
• Creating a Campus Culture that Proactively Supports Wellness;
• Addressing the Role of Mentors and Advisors;
• Supporting “At-Risk” Student Populations; and,
• Prioritizing Professional Development and Career Counseling.  

Professor Luke Georghiou, deputy president and deputy vice-chancellor at The University of Manchester, commented that, “Well-being and mental health issues among postgraduate researchers are high on the agenda at The University of Manchester. It has been immensely useful to have learned that this is a shared problem in all parts of the world, and most importantly to share experience on approaches to prevention and early detection of issues, and how to support students and staff in addressing them.”  

CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega noted, “One of our shared goals is to foster learning environments that provide all current and future graduate students with the tools and support to succeed. Our discussions over the last two days brought to light new ideas and strategies to take back to our campuses.”

Participants in the summit included deans and other leaders of graduate schools and representatives of national and international associations devoted to graduate education. Along with the United Kingdom and the United States, the countries represented were: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Malta, New Zealand, Rwanda, and South Africa.

The consensus statement and practical actions are attached. 

###

​We invite you to explore the electronic proceedings of the 2019 Global Summit, Cultural Contexts of Health and Well-being in Graduate Education. Individual papers are accessible at the links below.

​Summit Program and Compilation of Papers*

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

CGS contributions to the 2019 Summit were generously supported by Educational Testing Service (ETS) and ProQuest.

Sometimes a transformative moment in a graduate student’s career comes from the surprising intersection of the local and the global. A master’s student in international studies at North Carolina State University, Fatima Morys Barrios never expected to find parallels between her native Paraguay and Kinston, North Carolina. Through Rural Works!, a summer internship program connecting NC State students to rural North Carolina communities, Barrios discovered the commonalities between her home country and the rural communities around Raleigh, NC. “Paraguay’s…very similar to Kinston.” She said, “Our economy [in Paraguay] is based on agricultural products – we produce and export soybeans and corn and wheat and also beef.”

Barrios’ impact on Rural Works! in Kinston was immediate. She launched “Kickstart Kinston” with funding from NC Rural Center’s Small Business Recovery Program as a resource to help local small businesses grow and modernize. Furthermore, she connected local small businesses to one another in a network of mutual support. “Let’s say business owners do not have a website. We connected them with a web developer here in Kinston. So you don’t have to go to Raleigh, and you don’t have to go to Greenville to do that.”

Her community involvement went beyond “Kickstart Kinston,” however. Barrios worked with several local groups, including Kingston Economic Empowerment, where she organized an employment bootcamp for members of the community who had been incarcerated. She also worked on an oral history project for the African American Heritage Commission by interviewing senior citizens about their memories of Kinston.

Her experience was transformative both professionally and personally. “It changed my career goals,” said Barrios. “I never considered economic development as a way of becoming a consultant or as a person that might work in the planning department of a city hall. But I realized I was really good at that.” Beyond her career, Barrios’ experience also changed the way she thought about the relationship between her work and those it impacted. “I wanted to learn from the people, to learn what they need,” she concluded. To learn more about Fatima, visit the North Carolina State University website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Becky Kirkland

EMBARGOED UNTIL:                                                                                                                                        

Tuesday, August 20, 2019 10:00am EDT

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

JED Contact: Meg Woodworth – (212) 303-2306 / JEDmedia@yr.com

Washington, D.C. — The Council of Graduate Schools, (CGS) an association of universities that grant master’s and doctoral degrees, and The Jed Foundation (JED), a non-profit that exists to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults, today announced a new initiative to support the mental health and wellness of master’s and doctoral students. The 22-month project will create a foundation for evidence-based policies and resources to support graduate student mental health and well-being, prevent psychological distress, and address barriers to effective support and care. CGS and JED will give particular attention to the experiences of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities pursuing graduate education.

A growing body of evidence indicates that mental health challenges are common among graduate students. However, many barriers exist to effective support and care. These may include campus services that do not necessarily recognize the unique needs of graduate students, and a lack of evidence about what types of support are best suited to them. Students of different backgrounds may also face different sources of stress and may experience different levels of comfort in seeking help.

The new initiative, Supporting Mental Health and Wellness of Graduate Students will address these and other concerns across all broad fields of graduate study. A grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will support the council’s focus on issues specific to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, while a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support the council’s work in the humanities.

“Compared with the undergraduate education context, there has been relatively little attention to supporting the mental health and wellness of master’s and doctoral students,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “This is a high-priority issue for CGS and the graduate education community more broadly, and we are grateful to our funders for supporting our work on this issue in a coordinated, thoughtful way, and to JED for contributing their expertise.”

The project will convene an advisory committee of experts and graduate education leaders (listed below), who will counsel CGS on its research and action plan. In addition, CGS will survey its member institutions to better understand existing policies and practices for supporting graduate student mental health and factors that may impact the design and delivery of services. In 2020, graduate deans, graduate students, mental health researchers, and other experts will convene in Washington, D.C., for a one-and-half-day workshop. The final project outcome will include a report and a statement of common principles for supporting graduate student mental health.

“In our work with colleges and universities across the country, we hear time and again the increasing concern for graduate and professional students’ mental health and how best to support them," said Nance Roy, Chief Clinical Officer at The Jed Foundation.  “To date, there is no framework focused specifically on the unique challenges and needs of graduate students.  JED is excited to be part of this initiative that will not only identify those needs, but also provide recommended practices for addressing them.”

The report resulting from the project will be released by December 2020.

Advisory Committee:

• Dr. Hollie Chessman, Research Fellow, Center for Policy Research and Strategy, American Council on Education
• Dr. Jan Collins-Eaglin, Scientific Advisor, The Steve Fund
• Dr. Michael Cunningham, Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and Research, Tulane University
• Dr. Daniel Eisenberg, S.J. Axelrod Collegiate Professor in Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan
• Dr. Andres Gil, Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Dean of the University Graduate School, Florida International University 
• Ms. Susanna Harris, CEO Founder, PhD Balance and doctoral student in microbiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Dr. Paula McClain, Dean of The Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Duke University
• Dr. Suzanne Ortega (Ex-Officio), President, Council of Graduate Schools
• Dr. Susan Porter, Dean and Vice-Provost, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of British Columbia and President, Canadian Association for Graduate Studies
• Dr. Sally Pratt, Vice Provost for Graduate Programs, University of Southern California
• Dr. Nance Roy (Ex-Officio), Chief Clinical Officer, The Jed Foundation and Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry
• Dr. Barry Schreier, Director of the University Counseling Service and Professor of Counseling Psychology, The University of Iowa
• Dr. Tammi Vacha-Haase, Dean of the Graduate College, Boise State University and President-Elect, Western Association of Graduate Schools

# # #