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Master’s education is the fastest growing and largest part of the graduate education enterprise in the United States, yet we lack key information regarding master’s completion and attrition rates and factors contributing to student success. To begin to address that gap, CGS launched a new project in November 2010 to study Completion and Attrition in STEM Master’s Programs. This 27-month pilot project is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and guided by a seven-member Advisory Group.
Through a competitive process, five institutions were selected to participate in the project as funded Research Partners:
- Loyola University – Chicago
- Purdue University
- Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
- Texas A&M University
- Wright State University
These five institutions are collaborating with CGS to:
- Provide completion and attrition data on several cohorts of master’s students by program and demographic characteristics,
- Administer surveys to graduate program directors,
- Administer surveys to entering master’s students, graduates, and those who do not complete their degrees, and
- Host site visits in which CGS project staff will conduct focus group interviews with students as well as interviews with graduate program directors, university personnel, and deans to better understand reasons for enrollment, factors that contribute to student success, and promising practices to improve completion.
Institutions that are not participating in the project are welcome to implement the student surveys and use the completion and attrition data collection template. Word/Excel and PDF versions of the surveys and template are available below. In addition, CGS has prepared electronic versions of the surveys in SurveyMonkey. CGS members should contact Jeff Allum to obtain the SurveyMonkey versions of the surveys.
| Survey of First-year Students: | Instructions | Word | |
| Survey of Graduating Students: | Instructions | Word | |
| Factors Affecting Degree Completion Survey: | Instructions | Word | |
| Completion and Attrition Data Template: | Instructions | Excel |
Completion and Attrition in STEM Master’s Programs builds upon an earlier exploratory project conducted by CGS with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Science Foundation to clarify the state of knowledge about master’s completion and attrition in STEM fields. The results of this project are detailed in a CGS monograph, The Role and Status of the Master’s Degree in STEM.
For more information about Completion and Attrition in STEM Master’s Programs, please contact:
As the national advocate for graduate education, CGS serves as a resource for policymakers and others on issues concerning graduate education, research, and scholarship. Based in Washington, DC, the organization provides its members with regular updates and analyses of legislative and regulatory proposals and policies that affect graduate education.
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