“Anecdotal evidence overwhelmingly suggests that a large majority of graduate programs are being impacted by the effects of COVID-19,” said Debra Stewart, senior fellow, Higher Education Analytics Center at NORC, and president emerita, Council of Graduate Schools. “Only by understanding—institution by institution—the nature of the actual impacts and how universities are responding will we generate insights critical to assist university leaders as they work to ensure graduate students continue to make progress in the face of COVID-19 disruptions. But beyond documenting the present, we hope our work will highlight those bold innovations in graduate education that will endure, guaranteeing a more robust graduate enterprise in the post-pandemic era.” 

Basic data on how universities’ graduate programs are coping with the challenges of COVID-19 will be collected by an online survey to be completed by graduate school deans on behalf of 300 top STEM-producing doctoral- and masters-level colleges and universities in the United States. This is the first-ever systematic effort to collect these data. Information gleaned from the survey will guide the framework for the working-assemblies, which will bring together senior leaders from graduate schools and universities, as well as research experts, to share knowledge about the impacts and innovations across three key areas of inquiry:

• graduate student academic and research progress
• graduate student health and well-being
• graduate program continuity and sustainability

NORC will distribute its findings widely, through a final, publically available working paper and other publications, briefings of government and academic leaders, and conference presentations.