Surviving Grad School: Understanding Graduate Student Persistence Using Survival Analysis

• In Event: Graduate School Decisions and Success

Abstract

In contrast to undergraduate education, student retention and persistence during their graduate education is under examined. Working as both educators and learners, graduate students serve a key role in modern higher education. To address this gap in the literature on graduate student retention and persistence, this research used survival analysis to examine the persistence of 24,686 graduate students over an 11-year period ending spring 2011. Persistence by gender, race, and STEM fields of study were considered. Differences were found across gender, race, and fields of study independently. When considered together, race and fields of study were significant but they moderated the effect of gender in predicting graduate student persistence. Implications are discussed and next steps in the research are outlined.

Authors

• Narren J. Brown, Grinnell College

• Clinton M. Stephens, Iowa State University