West Virginia University will be participating as an affiliate partner in a collective effort spearheaded by the Council of Graduate Schools to gather and use data about the careers of Ph.D. students and alumni. The broad-based survey will collect data about Ph.D. careers in both STEM and humanities fields and is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
A total of 48 universities have been selected to participate as funded research partners or project affiliates. Collectively, these institutions award more than 8000 Ph.D. degrees annually (on average); WVU awards an average of 183 annually (2013-16).
Over the course of the multi-year project, the participating institutions will survey both current Ph.D. students and alumni. The resulting data will allow universities to analyze Ph.D. career preferences and outcomes at the program level and help faculty and university leaders strengthen career services, professional development opportunities, and mentoring in doctoral programs. Universities will also be able to use the data to communicate the career trajectories of Ph.D. alumni to current and prospective students, helping them to make more informed selections of Ph.D. programs.
“This project will help WVU to better understand the multiple career paths taken by our doctoral graduates and will guide us in adapting our programs and support systems to best assist doctoral students in preparing for a satisfying and successful career,” said Katherine Karraker, Associate Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs at WVU.
The first wave of the survey will be sent to Ph.D. alumni in Fall 2017 and CGS will begin publishing the first wave of survey findings the following Fall.
-WVU-
ac/07/27/17
CONTACT: Katherine
Karraker; Associate Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs;
304.293.7173; katherine.karraker@mail.wvu.edu
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