Doctoral students at the University of Illinois complete two exit surveys. All doctoral students are required to complete both the Doctoral Exit Survey and the Survey of Earned Doctorates and the at the time of the final thesis deposit. Students may decline to answer any or all of the questions.
The Doctoral Exit Survey allows the University of Illinois to compare students’ experiences in its doctoral programs with those of students from peer institutions. Data from this survey helps improve doctoral programs on our campus. De-identified data from this survey are forwarded to the Association of American Universities (AAU) Data Exchange. Data compiled by AAU from member institutions facilitates the sharing of information nationally and provides a data pool that is used to shape graduate education at the national level.
The Survey of Earned Doctorates is conducted by the RTI International for the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and other supporting institutions. For more information about the Survey of Earned Doctorates, visit the website.