2019 acs graduate Student Survey Report

4. Recommendations
The data gathered through the 2019 ACS Graduate Student Survey provide a snapshot of the
graduate student experience, suggest opportunities for improving the quality of that experience,
and also highlight the need for additional research. Overall, the majority of graduate student
respondents reported that they are satisfied with their experience in graduate school and aim to
pursue a career path in for-profit businesses such as industry. Master’s and doctoral degree stu-
dents feel confident that the core competency areas described by the National Academies Press
report on Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century (2018).
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are elements that should be
common among all STEM master’s and doctoral degree programs. The interactions with and op-
portunities provided by their research advisors are largely viewed positively, the financial support
and benefits are mostly deemed adequate, and the majority would not change their field of study.
This survey also confirms that harassment (including sexual harassment) has been experienced
by a number of graduate students in the chemical sciences and often remains unreported. The
survey highlights the gap that exists in knowledge provided to respondents of information about
a variety of careers, particularly nonacademic career paths.
The section below highlights recommendations for departments, universities, administrators, 
advisors and mentors, funders, professional organizations, and ACS to enhance the graduate 
student experience.
Recommendations Resulting From the 2019 ACS Graduate Student Survey:
• Conduct future surveys examining the values and socialization factors of graduate students
in the chemical sciences that will allow for a multicultural lens to be focused on topics such
as career motivation, advisor–advisee relationships, sense of belonging, intersectionality, and
mentor–mentee relationships. These surveys have the potential to elucidate connections with
socialization research done in other STEM and humanities fields, allowing for a convergence of
cross-disciplines and of research, theory, and practice.
• Transparently disseminate and share real-time information with students and prospective stu-
dents about the wide variety of career paths available to chemical scientists with graduate de-
grees, including current job market data, expected competencies for various positions, and career
outcome data of alumni and alumnae, members, and others with chemical science degrees.
• Promote the importance of and implement activities that achieve diversity, inclusion, equity, and
respect (DIER) for the students, faculty advisors, administrators, and staff within the graduate
education community.
• Communicate the value and breadth of different career areas available to chemical scientists
with master’s and doctoral degrees, and provide programming that allows graduate students
to explore different career areas and sectors. Ideally, the programming should be embedded in
the curricula early in graduate students’ experience.
• Communicate the value and expected core competencies associated with the acquisition of a
graduate degree in the chemical sciences as described by the National Academies Press report
on Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century (2018).
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Enhance graduate curricula to pro-
vide guided competency development activities that address communication, project manage-
ment, pedagogical, and leadership skills.
• Communicate the value of available benefits, including career counseling resources, to gradu-
ate students.
• Promote and provide guidance for the use of Individual Development Plans (IDPs) with an in-
tentional focus on the flexible, adaptable, and iterative nature of the IDP process. Programming
associated with the IDP should allow for thorough self-assessment.
• Provide substantive resources (e.g., related training for students and faculty, mechanisms that
encourage dialogue and reporting, and supportive structures for vulnerable groups, etc.) to ad-
dress and prevent harassment. A code of conduct should be shared with the graduate

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education community. Clear guidelines for how to address behaviors associated with any kind 
of harassment and a commitment to accountability should be disseminated.
• Communicate the value of and provide access to experiential opportunities (e.g., internships,
international research, teaching opportunities, broader impact opportunities, etc.) that can sig-
nificantly enhance the personal and professional development of graduate students.
These recommendations are based on the findings of this survey within the contexts of recent re-
ports on graduate education, the current job market climate, and potential collaborative endeav-
ors among the stakeholders in the graduate education ecosystem (i.e., university and industry 
partners, department representatives, graduate student mentors and advisors, partner profes-
sional societies, graduate students, and ACS).