Chapter 4:
GRADUATE ACADEMIC and GRADUATE PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS
goals
California’s Master Plan for Higher Education gives the University of California the responsibility of enrolling and preparing graduate academic and professional students to help meet the workforce needs of California and the nation and to further the UC mission of teaching, research, and public service. The education of outstanding graduate students is a vital part of achieving and sustaining world-class status on each UC campus and of fulfilling UC’s Master Plan commitments. Doctoral students, in particular, support and enrich faculty research programs, help recruit and retain outstanding faculty, teach and inspire undergraduates, and become the next generation of innovators across all fields. They become industry and public sector leaders, scholars, artists, entrepreneurs and self-motivated, independent, thoughtful members of their communities.
A more inclusive community of scholars, at all levels, has been another longstanding goal for the University. UC’s Growing Our Own: Graduate Enrollment and Diversifying Ph.D. Pathways systemwide initiative aims to improve inclusion within UC’s academic community by building sustainable pathways to the professoriate. It seeks to achieve these goals by expanding existing programs at UC and creating stronger connections among institutions of higher education to identify and cultivate talent. In particular, the Growing Our Own initiative aims to increase the number and proportion of UC undergraduate degree recipients who earn an academic doctoral degree, and to increase the number and proportion of UC academic doctoral graduates from UC, California State University (CSU), other Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). Each UC campus established growth targets achievable by 2030 for Ph.D. enrollments from UC undergraduates and students from CSU, HBCU, other HSI, and TCU institutions with the goal to increase enrollments from these schools to 41 percent from the current level of 32 percent (up from 29 percent when the initiative was launched)
The 2022 Multi-Year Compact with the state of California set additional goals for UC’s graduate education enterprise through 2026–27, with UC seeking to increase graduate enrollment by adding 2,500 additional graduate students across the system. UC also prioritized graduate enrollment growth in high-need disciplines that support state workforce needs, including healthcare, STEM, climate action, and education, and endeavors to increase the number of graduate STEM degrees and academic doctoral degrees to both support high-demand career pipelines and to produce future faculty for the state’s public higher education segments.
This chapter provides an update on progress towards these goals along with other key indicators of the success and impact of UC’s graduation education enterprise.
Universitywide graduate academic master’s new enrollment has increased since 2015, while doctoral enrollments have remained relatively flat.
4.1.1 Graduate academic applications, admits, and new enrollees by degree program, Universitywide, Fall 2015 and 2024
Graduate admissions dashboard
The demand for UC academic master’s and doctoral programs remains strong and has grown substantially over the last decade but admits and new enrollees for doctoral programs have not increased accordingly. Enrollment growth in engineering and computer science at the master’s level, however, has been robust, even after fluctuations during the pandemic period. Increasing the size of entering classes of graduate students will be important in achieving enrollment and degree production goals.
Since 2015, the number and share of graduate academic master’s admits have increased significantly among international students but less so for newly admitted doctoral students.
4.1.2 Graduate academic applications, admits, and new enrollees by race/ethnicity and discipline, Universitywide, Fall 2015 and 2024
Graduate admissions dashboard applicants
Graduate admissions dashboard admits
Graduate admissions dashboard enrollees
International students represent the majority of applicants, admits, and new enrollees in engineering and computer science graduate academic master’s programs. Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences programs have the highest shares of enrollment among students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, and those shares increased between 2015 and 2024.
Graduate enrollment, as a share of UC’s total enrollment, has remained at 21 percent and is largely sustained by the growth of self-supporting programs.
4.2.1 Graduate enrollment share of total, Universitywide, Fall 2004 to Fall 2024
Source: UC Corporate Student System
With 21 percent graduate enrollment in 2024, including health science students, UC was lower than the average for non-UC AA public institutions, at 28 percent, and the average for AAU private institutions, at 55 percent. Growth in UC’s academic master’s and professional self-supporting programs has been the most robust in recent years, with academic doctoral enrollments remaining flat
In fall 2024, 31.1 percent of all UC graduate students were international, compared with 8.9 percent of undergraduates. China, the top sending country, accounts for 33 percent of the international graduate enrollment. International students represent 35 percent of academic doctoral enrollment and 46 percent of academic master's enrollment.
UC’s goal is to have 41 percent of academic doctoral students come from UC, CSU, HBCUs, other HSIs, and TCUs that are more racially/ethnically diverse than students from other undergraduate institutions.
4.2.2 Share of all academic doctoral students from UC/CSU/HBCU/HSI/TCU and Growing Our Own goal
UC 2030 dashboard
UC 2030 dashboard – Goal #3 – Growing our own initiative
Source: UC Corporate Student System
UC seeks to enroll a higher proportion of academic doctoral students from a UC, California State University (CSU), Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI; non-UC/CSU), or Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU). The Growing Our Own initiative aims to help UC achieve its goals of diversifying both its doctoral student population and the California professoriate. Since 2019, UC moved closer to this goal by increasing the share of doctoral students from these target institutions from 28 percent to 32 percent—which has been roughly a one percent annual increase since the Initiative’s inception.
More than three-quarters of UC academic doctoral students graduate with no debt. Doctoral students in the life and physical sciences have seen smaller increases in debt since 2014–15 and graduate with less loan debt than those in the social sciences and arts and humanities.
4.2.3 Academic doctoral students’ graduate debt at graduation, by discipline, domestic students, Universitywide, Graduating classes of 2014–15 to 2023–24
Graduate student financial support and debt at graduation dashboard
Source: UC Corporate Student System
Depending on the field of study, 70 percent or more of UC academic doctoral students graduate with no student loan debt. Several factors account for the variation in debt across the STEM fields and social sciences or humanities, including higher levels of funding through research grants available in STEM fields and longer average time to degree in social sciences and humanities.
Graduates from professional schools have higher debt levels with fluctuating, but overall declines in the percent borrowing.
4.2.4 Graduate professional degree student debt at graduation, by discipline, domestic students, Universitywide, Graduating classes of 2014-2015 to 2023–24
Graduate student financial support and debt at graduation dashboard
Source: UC Corporate Student System
Graduate professional students rely more on borrowing compared to graduate academic students, with roughly 50 percent of their financial support coming in the form of loans. Graduate funding models require greater reliance on loans for professional degree students, as their programs are of shorter duration, and many fields offer potentially higher incomes after graduation.
UC awards over 75 percent of its graduate academic degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
4.3.1 Graduate academic degrees awarded by discipline, UC and AAU private and public comparison institutions, Number of degrees grouped in 3-year intervals: 2011–12 to 2022–23
Source: IPEDS
UC’s graduate STEM programs reflect the predominant industries in California’s economy. In addition to leading all California institutions in the production of engineering and computer science degrees, UC far outpaces them in the production of degrees in the biological sciences.
UC’s doctoral completion rate increased in nearly every field over the most recent cohorts studied.
4.3.2 Doctoral completion rates after ten years, by broad field, Universitywide, Fall 2006–2008, 2009–2011, and 2012–2014 entry cohorts
Doctoral retention and completion dashboard
Over 70 percent of UC academic doctoral students complete their degrees within ten years. Life sciences and health sciences continue to have the highest completion rates compared to social sciences, humanities, and engineering and computer sciences.
UC's median time-to-doctorate varies by race/ethnicity, gender, and discipline, ranging from five to seven years.
4.3.3a Median time-to-doctorate, by race/ethnicity and discipline, Universitywide, 2021 through 2023 graduating cohorts
Time-to-doctorate dashboard
4.3.3b Median time-to-doctorate, by gender and discipline, Universitywide, 2021 through 2023 graduating cohorts
Time-to-doctorate dashboard
Registered and elapsed time-to-doctorate vary by discipline, with most students requiring about six years of total time and five to six years of registered time. International students have shorter elapsed time-to-doctorate (ETD) and registered time-to-doctorate (RTD) in the life sciences and humanities. Men and women generally have comparable time-to-doctorate.
Note: Elapsed time-to-doctorate (ETD) represents the total elapsed time starting from entry into a graduate program to doctoral degree completion, with leaves of absence or other enrollment lapses counting toward the ETD. Registered time-to-doctorate (RTD) is defined as the total time in which the student was formally registered in graduate study at the campus.
Half of UC academic doctoral and master’s graduates in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who stay in California work in higher education.
4.3.4 Industry of employment of UC graduate academic students in California, by year after graduation, Universitywide, 2000 to 2023 graduating cohorts
Source: California Employment Development Department and UC Corporate Student System
Graduates of UC academic doctoral and master’s degree programs go on to work in a broad range of industries in California. Large proportions of graduates in most disciplines go on to work in higher education, while engineering and computer science graduates are more likely to work in a broader set of industries including manufacturing, engineering, and internet and computer systems.
UC awards a high proportion of professional degrees in business and law.
4.4.1 Graduate professional degrees awarded by discipline, UC and AAU private and public comparison institutions, Number of degrees grouped in 3-year intervals: 2011–12 to 2022–23
Source:IPEDS
The proportion of professional degrees awarded by UC is comparable to AAU private and public institutions, with the greatest proportion of degrees awarded in business and law.
UC professional programs prepare graduates for careers closely related to their field of study.
4.4.2 Industry of employment of UC graduate professional students in California, by year after graduation, Universitywide, 2000 to 2023 graduating cohorts
Source: California Employment Development Department and UC Corporate Student System
High proportions of UC’s law school and medical school graduates go on to work in the legal or health care and social assistance fields, respectively. Graduates of UC Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs go on to work in a wide range of fields in California including finance and insurance, business services, internet and computer services, and manufacturing.