Path Through Graduate School: A Longitudinal Examination Ten Years After Bachelor's Degree. Postsecondary Education Descriptive Analysis Report

摘要

The report uses longitudinal data from the 1992-93 Baccalaureate and Beyond Study (B&B:93/03) to examine the characteristics related to graduate degree enrollment, persistence, and completion among 1992-93 bachelors degree recipients. About 40 percent of 1992-93 bachelors degree recipients had enrolled in a graduate degree program by 2003. On average, most students waited between 2 and 3 years to enroll for the first time in a graduate degree program, and among those who enrolled between 1993 and 2003, some 62 percent had earned at least one graduate degree by 2003. Masters degree students took an average of 3 years to complete their degree, first-professional students took about 4 years, and doctoral students took more than 5 years. After controlling for a wide range of relevant variables, several enrollment characteristics retained a significant relationship with graduate degree persistence and completion. Rates of persistence and completion were higher among students who entered graduate school immediately after earning a bachelors degree, who attended full time and enrolled continuously, and who enrolled in multiple graduate degree programs.