The Graduation Part II: Graduate School Graduation Rates / Jeffrey T. Denning, Lesley J. Turner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Denning, Jeffrey T.

Contributor:

Turner, Lesley J.

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w32749.

NBER working paper series no. w32749

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2024.

Summary:

This paper documents several facts about graduate program graduation rates using administrative data covering public and nonprofit graduate students in Texas. Despite conventional wisdom that most graduate students complete their programs, only 58 percent of who started their program in 2004 graduated within 6 years. Between the 2004 and 2013 entering cohorts, graduate student completion rates grew by 10 percentage points. Graduation rates vary widely by field of study--ranging from an average of 81 percent for law programs to 53 percent for education programs. We also find large differences in graduation rates across institutions. On average, 72 percent of students who entered programs in flagship public universities graduated in 6 years compared to only 57 percent of those who entered programs in non-research intensive (non-R1) institutions. Graduate students who do not complete may face negative consequences due to lower average earnings and substantial levels of student debt.

Notes:

July 2024.

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