In 2014 a small group of graduate students in the chemistry department at the University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with the division of student affairs, created a survey instrument to measure accurately the overall quality of the graduate experience and its effect on persistence in the chemistry Ph.D. program. The first and second datasets were collected in May of 2015 and 2017, with the intention of continuing to collect data biannually. Questions focused on financial stress, awareness and use of department and university resources, career goals, research environment, personal and family life, departmental climate, doctoral candidacy, and teaching experience. In 2015, 113 out of 210 students completed the survey, and in 2017, 144 out of 183 students completed the survey for exceptional completion rates of 54% and 79% respectively. Our results identified specific strengths and deficiencies in the graduate program at UT Austin that contributed to satisfaction and persistence among graduate students. We were able to correlate changes in satisfaction to demographic and policy changes in our department. Though we have focused our survey questions on issues that specifically affect students in the UT Austin department of chemistry, we have designed this survey instrument as a tool that can be easily adapted to other universities, departments, or disciplines for further research.<br/>

A survey instrument for measuring the persistence and quality of life of chemistry graduate students

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.