The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States

The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States is the landmark report from the Commission on the Future of Graduate Education in the United States.

The report addresses the role of graduate education in sustaining our intellectual leadership into the future. It summarizes political, demographic, educational, and economic trends, analyzing data from a wide spectrum of sources. The report includes:

• data on current domestic and international talent pools
• analysis of the international competition for talented students
• projected workforce needs requiring advanced degrees
• vulnerabilities in the university, employer, and public-policy domains

It demonstrates that graduate education remains the engine of a highly skilled workforce, yet is currently vulnerable on several fronts. The report includes policy recommendations designed to create a path forward by promoting collaboration among universities, employers, and policymakers to ensure that U.S. graduate schools remain preeminent and that a growing number of U.S. citizens begin and complete graduate degree programs.