The Wayne State University Graduate School hosted an event on March 19 in the Student Center where participants gleaned an inside look at the current state of graduate education at WSU, had the opportunity to ask questions of Dean Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, and share in the strategic reimaging of the graduate academic experience.

“It’s important to be transparent about the graduate academic experience at Wayne State University,” Bryant-Friedrich said. “To keep students and faculty informed about the data that drives our academic decisions but also take into account their breadth of experiences in strategizing for the future.”

The event, titled The State of Graduate Education at Wayne State University, began with a presentation by Bryant-Friedrich that covered Ph.D. enrollment trends, data on time-to-degree, information on available funding, and Graduate School-led initiatives.

The presentation included facts such as

• 1.6% of the 9,224 prospects who started an application for fall 2024, enrolled, the majority of them international.
• The Graduate School covers $23,370,000 million in tuition for graduate assistants and fellows every academic year.
• The Graduate School supports seven training grants focused on preparing STEM students for successful careers in their fields.
• The Graduate School has recently partnered with TechTown for the College to Career initiative that will provide internship opportunities to Ph.D. students in the humanities and social sciences who will work directly with public policy-focused nonprofit organizations in Detroit.
• Twenty-eight voting members in five standing subcommittees make up the Graduate Council, responsible for the development of basic policies for the graduate education system and the evaluation of graduate programs.
• The average salary of alumni is $102,076.

Bryant-Friedrich then took questions from the audience. Finally, the audience broke into breakout sessions to discuss the opportunities and challenges of graduate education today.

Breakout topics and takeaways

Breakout topic: postdoctoral affairs
Takeaway: Build a better sense of community and connectivity through

• More social and professional events.
• An informal welcome to WSU with faculty participation.
• External mentoring opportunities.
• Job seeking preparation.

Breakout topic: professional development
Takeaway: Better communication of academic standards and expectations to graduate students by

• Standardizing operating procedures of Individual Development Plans (IDPs) and annual reviews.
• Offering more career prep not covered in the classroom, such as how to apply for grants, national-level events, and external fellowships.
• Offering more hybrid events that incentivize in-person attendance for in-person events, record events for later access.
• Discussing the importance of activities early in training.
• Hosting tailored events (graduate students vs postdocs).

Breakout topic: marketing
Takeaway: Some programs could benefit from more help and resources to market their programs and increase applicants, admissions, and enrollment.

Breakout topic: interdisciplinary programs
Takeaway: Clearer institutional policies and procedures are needed to help faculty establish and administer programs that encompass multiple departments and schools/colleges.

Breakout topic: funding insecurity and flexibility
Takeaway: Communicate potential funding for

• New recruits and the likelihood of continuing funding in the future.
• Students transitioning between advisors or programs.
• Part-time students.

Breakout topic: Ph.D. program sizing
Takeaway: Some Ph.D. programs may be able to grow with either more funding or more self-funded students, but other programs may need guidance in how to shrink their programs strategically and with best outcomes for students as they hit resource crunches.

Next steps

“It is critical to include the desires and goals of our faculty and students in the strategy to continue to support graduate education at WSU into the future,” Bryant-Friedrich said. “Our doctoral programs are critical to the successful execution of the university mission of research teaching and service. The valuable input obtained from these constituencies lay the foundation for a plan for the future of graduate education to be crafted during the next few months.”