Enrollment, Economy 'Both Down'

The Council of Graduate Schools reports that new student enrollment at US graduate schools dipped 1.1 percent from fall 2009 to fall 2010, which it says "marks the first decrease in first-time graduate enrollment since fall 2003." Further, CGS adds that the decline "occurred despite an 8.4 percent increase in applications to U.S. graduate schools," though it adds that overall enrollment did grow 1.1 percent during that same time. In its analysis of the council's new report, The New York Times reports that "doctoral programs are growing faster than master's and certificate programs, the council's study found, both among newly enrolled graduate students and the overall graduate population." CGS President Debra Stewart tells the Times that her group was surprised by its findings. "Both historically and in recent years, there's been an inverse relationship between the economy and graduate student enrollment," Stewart says. "But now, they're both down, so the question is, why?"