GEOSCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM STRUCTURE AS A PREDICTOR OF STUDENT EXPERIENCE AND OUTCOMES

As a subaward to the Universal Skills for Geoscience Graduate Student Success in the Workforce grant, we analyzed U.S. geoscience master’s and doctoral programs to determine if there are structural parameters that can be used as predictors for specific outcomes. We also examined common structural patterns that define “styles” of programs and assessed how these patterns align with programmatic outcomes. Identifiable program styles include cohort programs, which tend to track graduate students into non-academic career pathways, and non-cohort programs. There are also substantial differences between doctoral and master’s programs in funding sources, faculty load, student support methods, and online aspects of programs. We also discuss how the structural parameters of these different types of graduate programs align with their programmatic outcomes.