Institutional Contacts

ATTACHMENT 7: SED Institution Contact Materials
2024 SED Communications
Type

To

From

Content

Expected Date

Email

Institution Contacts

NSF Project Officer

Notification of 2024 web instrument
is live
Job Aid (English)- Posted on Web
Portal
Job Aid (Spanish)- Posted on Web
Portal
Respondent Brochure- Posted on
Web Portal
Auto-generated email to new IC or LC
Graduation List Prompting Email *Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring
1st Address Roster Request- Low
Responding
1st Address Roster Request- High
Responding
Missing Information Roster (MIR)
Request
Dean Thank You Letter
New Institution Email to Deans
Uses of the Data & Best Practices
Graduation List Template
Address Roster Template
Missing Information Roster Template

5/2023

Institution Contacts
Institution Contacts
Institution Contacts
Email
Email

Institution Contacts
Institution Contacts

RTI Project Director
Data Collection Staff

Email

Institution Contacts

NSF Project Officer

Email

Institution Contacts

NSF Project Officer

Email

Institution Contacts

NSF Project Officer

Letter
Email
Email

Deans & ICs
Dean
Institution Contacts
Institution Contacts
Institution Contacts
Institution Contacts

NSF Project Officer
NSF Project Officer
Posted on Web Portal
Posted on Web Portal
Posted on Web Portal

5/2023
5/2023
5/2023
Ongoing
Ongoing
3/2024
3/2024
10/2024
1/2025
Ongoing
As needed
Ongoing
3/2024
10/2024

EMAIL TO NOTIFY IC OF SED WEB 2024 LAUNCH
Subject: Launch of the 2024 Survey of Earned Doctorates
Dear :
Thank you for your continued support of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) and welcome to the 2024 SED!
The 2024 survey is now available on the web for all research doctoral students who expect to graduate
between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
Your students can access the SED web survey at https://sed-ncses.org, the same URL from last year.
All the survey materials are also available on the website for the ICs at https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT. For
more detail information about the SED, please go to https://sedsurvey.org/.
If you have any changes in the Institution Contact and Graduate Dean contact information, please send the
updated information to [email protected].

For any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1-877-256-8167 or [email protected].
Thank you again for your support.
Sincerely,
Kelly H. Kang
Project Officer
Survey of Earned Doctorates
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation
For information on the SED, please visit https://nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctorates/.
SED is collected under contract by RTI International, a nonprofit research organization, for NSF.

JOB AID, ENGLISH, page 1

2024 Survey of Earned Doctorates

Institution Contact Job Aid
Welcome!
Welcome to the 2024 cycle of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). The SED is an annual census of all research
doctorate recipients from U.S. accredited institutions. The goal is to gather objective data about doctoral
graduates, which help improve graduate education by providing governmental and private agencies with the
information necessary to make program and policy decisions.
In addition, participating institutions receive data about their own doctorate recipients which can be used for
institutional program evaluation and improvement.
The survey is conducted by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with the National Institutes of
Health, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The SED data
collection activities are currently contracted to RTI International.
Each institution awarding research doctorates appoints an institution contact (IC) who helps facilitate the
administration and completion of the SED. Over the past few decades, ICs have successfully ensured extremely
high response rates – above 90 percent – for the more than 50,000 research doctorate recipients who
graduate each year. This commitment to data quality is critical to ensuring the integrity of these
comprehensive data on U.S. research doctorate recipients.

ICAT Website
The SED Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT) https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT contains
information and helpful tools to assist ICs administer the SED on their campus. On the website, ICs can
obtain survey materials to distribute to graduating research doctorates, transmit various SED forms and files,
and maintain contact information for key personnel responsible for SED administration. Furthermore, ICs can
view their school’s response rate, SED document submission status, and students’ survey response status.
The ICAT allows you to access the following:
✓ View informational brochures, current and past SED questionnaires, FERPA exemption letter, and the
SED’s Confidentiality and Privacy policy.
✓ Update contact information for Deans, Institution Contacts, and List Coordinators.
✓ The SED Response Rate table displays various counts for each graduation date provided in the
graduation list.
✓ The SED Response Status table displays various student counts, including ineligible students and
students who have completed the survey versus students who have not.
✓ The Document Status table displays all documents needed from your school and their current status.
✓ The Student List displays all students currently in the SED’s records, along with their survey status
(Complete, In Progress, Not Started, Receipted), for any open round of data collection.

IC Contact Information
If you are new to the IC role or your contact information has changed, please email your updated contact
information to [email protected].

JOB AID, ENGLISH, page 2

Eligible Types of Doctorates
The SED includes research doctorates only; for this survey, a r esearch doctorate is a doctoral degree that
requires the completion of an original intellectual contribution in the form of a dissertation or an equivalent
culminating project (such as a musical composition), and that is not primarily intended as a degree for the
practice of a profession.
Types of research doctoral degrees eligible for the Survey of Earned Doctorates
Abbreviation
PhD
DA
DBA
DDes
DEng, DESc,DES
DFA
DHL
DMA
DME
DML
DNSc
DPH
DSc, ScD
EdD
JCD
JSD, SJD
STD
ThD

Degree title
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Arts
Doctor of Business Administration
Doctor of Design
Doctor of Engineering or Engineering Science
Doctor of Fine Arts
Doctor of Hebrew Letters
Doctor of Musical Arts
Doctor of Music Education
Doctor of Modern Languages
Doctor of Nursing Science
Doctor of Public Health
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Education
Doctor of Canon Law
Doctor of Juridical Science
Doctor of Sacred Theology
Doctor of Theology

The PhD is the most common research doctorate degree. Recipients of professional, practitioner, or
applied doctorates – such as MD, DDS, JD, PsyD, DMin, PharmD and DNP degrees – are NOT included in
the SED.
However, in some institutions, there are some doctoral degree programs that may be equivalent to the
PhD, such as the Doctor of Education, Doctor of Science, and the Doctor of Engineering; these should be
included in the SED ONLY if the NSF has determined that these particular degrees at your institution are
research degrees.
If your institution has a medical school, please make sure that any research doctorates awarded through
the medical school are included in the SED. If you have any questions about a SED eligible degree
awarded by your institution, please call us toll-free at 1-877-256-8167.

JOB AID, ENGLISH, page 3

Types of Data Requested (2022 SED Eligibility Period: July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022)
Graduation Lists

•are required to ensure the SED has an accurate base

count of your doctoral graduates.
•contact information requested only for students who

ICAT website: https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT/
have yet to complete the survey, where contact
Address Roster

information was not provided on the Graduation List

•a subset of critical data items requested only for
Missing Information Roster
students who have yet to complete the survey.

(1) GRADUATION LIST:


After each graduation date during the eligibility period, please submit each graduation list
within 2 months of the graduation date.



Graduation lists are needed to ensure we have an accurate base count of your doctoral graduates.



Following information is requested for each student:
• Student’s First and Last Name
• Email Address
• Graduation Month/Year
• Physical Mailing Address
• Degree Type (PhD, EdD, JSD, etc.)
• Telephone number
• Doctoral Field of Study
• Advisor’s Name

(2) ADDRESS ROSTER (Requested only if contact information was not provided on the Graduation List and
only for students who have yet to complete the survey):


Requested two times during the eligibility period.



Address roster information is needed to contact the students to complete the survey.



Following information is requested for each student:
• Student’s Email Address
• Physical Mailing Address
• Telephone Number

(3) MISSING INFORMATION ROSTER (MIR):


Requested near the end of data collection.



Missing Information Roster (MIR) information are a subset of critical data items for students who
have not completed the survey.



Following information is requested for each nonresponding student.
• Student’s Doctoral Field of Study
• Birthdate
• Sex
• Citizenship
• Ethnicity and Race
• Bachelor’s Degree Year, Institution Name and Location
• Post Degree Location (U.S. or Out of U.S.)

JOB AID, ENGLISH, page 4

Step-by-Step Instructions

1

4

3-4 months before graduation, distribute the SED web survey link— https://sed-ncses.org

2

Monitor SED web survey completion status on the ICAT's Student Status page

3

Within two months after each graduation date, submit a graduation list via the ICAT.

Email any nonresponding students using the new email feature in the ICAT.

1. 3-4 months before graduation, distribute the SED web survey link— https://sed-ncses.org — for each
student applying for graduation or award of a research doctorate. The SED web survey can be linked to
your institution’s exit survey or included in a graduation checklist for your research doctorates.
2. Monitor SED web survey completion status on the ICAT for each upcoming graduate and follow-up
regularly with doctoral recipients who have not yet completed the survey.
3.

Within 2 months of each graduation date, use the Excel template on the ICAT to upload a final
graduation list. Alternatively, you may upload a Word document or a copy of an annotated
commencement program.

4.

4. Email any nonresponding students using the email feature in the ICAT.

2022 SED Timeline
Graduation Eligibility Period

July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024

SED Web Survey Available to Institutions

May 2023

Submit Graduation Lists

Quarterly

Submit Address Rosters
(if needed)

March 2024 and August 2024

Submit Missing Information Rosters
(if needed)

October 2024

Deadline to Submit Graduation Lists

October 15, 2024

Data Collection Ends

December 31, 2024

JOB AID, ENGLISH, page 5

SED Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
✓ What is the student SED web survey link?
https://sed-ncses.org – we suggest adding this survey link to a graduation checklist.
✓ What is the Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT)?
The SED Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT), https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT, contains
information and helpful tools to assist ICs administer the SED on their campus. Please see page 1 of this
document for more information.
✓ What are the roles of an Institution Contact (IC) and a List Coordinator (LC)?
o Each school has the option of having one Institution Contact (IC) and one List Coordinator (LC). These two
roles are granted access to the Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT).
o The main responsibilities of an Institution Contact (IC) are to:
• direct your research doctorate students to complete the survey at https://sed-ncses.org.
• provide a Graduation List of research doctorate graduates via the ICAT system, preferably within
2 months of each graduation period.
o If your school has both an Institution Contact (IC) and a List Coordinator (LC):
• The IC is responsible for directing research doctorates to complete the survey.
• The LC is responsible for providing graduation lists (and other requested data, as needed) of research
doctorate graduates via the ICAT system, preferably within 2 months of each graduation period.
✓ Where do I find my ICAT username?
When you were identified as an IC or LC, you were sent login credentials via email. If you cannot locate that
email, you may retrieve your ICAT username by contacting the SED Help Desk at 877-256-8167 or
[email protected]. For security purposes, Help Desk staff are unable to provide password information.
✓ How do I reset my ICAT password?
1. Go to https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT
2. Enter your username
3. Click “forgot password”
4. A assword reset email will be sent to you
Note: some institution email security settings will prevent automated email from reaching your inbox. If you
cannot find the password reset email in your inbox, spam, or junk folders, please email the SED Help Desk at
[email protected] and we will manually forward the email to you.

✓ How do I update my contact information?
You may update contact information by notifying us at [email protected] or by calling us at 877-256-8167.
✓ Where do I find my SED institution ID?
You may retrieve your SED Institution ID by contacting the SED Help Desk at 877-256-8167 or [email protected].
Your Institution ID is also included in all Graduation List email prompts, in the email subject line.

JOB AID, ENGLISH, page 6

SED Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) continued
✓ Can I receive copies of the Certificate of Completion email that is sent to the student?
Yes. We can identify one email address to be cc’d on the email sent to the student, upon completion of their
survey. Please email [email protected] to make this request.
✓ How often should I provide a graduation list?
As a general practice, we ask that graduation lists be provided within two months of each graduation date.
✓ Where do I find the graduation list excel template?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Log into ICAT https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT
Select Data Collection menu
Select Graduation Lists, download excel template
Enter student information in template
Submit graduation list via the Upload Forms page

✓ What should I title my graduation list?
Please include the month/year in your file title. Our suggestion is to title your graduation list using the
following format: “MonthYear_GraduationList_School”
Examples: December2021_GraduationList_HarvardLaw
January_March2022_GraduationList_EastCarolinaUniv
✓ What data is requested on the Graduation List?
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Student first and last name
Graduation Month/Year
Degree Type (PhD, EdD, JSD, etc.)
Field of Study
Student email address
Student physical mailing address
Student phone number
Advisor’s name

✓ What is the difference between the Graduation List and the Address Roster?
Graduation lists are a complete list of all eligible research doctorate per conferral date (graduation).
Address Rosters are a subset of students who were previously reported on a graduation list(s) but have
yet to complete the survey. For more information about data each list requests, please see page 3 of this
document.
✓ How do I request my institution’s data?
There are several types of data requests available to you. Please visit the ICAT for instructions.
1. Log into ICAT https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT
2. Select Study Results menu
3. Select Institution Data
4. Follow directions to request Institution Datasets or Preliminary Institution Files

JOB AID, ENGLISH, page 7

SED Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) continued
✓ A student told me their graduation date is not available to register for the SED—what should I do?
If your student is attempting to register for a survey cycle that is not yet available, their graduation date
will not be visible in the drop-down menu. Please ask your student to email the SED Help Desk at
[email protected] for instructions.
Each survey cycle is associated with a specific range of graduation dates. For example:
SED 2024 cycle allows access to students with graduation dates between July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024
SED 2025 cycle allows access to students with graduation dates between July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025
A couple of months prior to a new cycle beginning, the new SED survey becomes available online. When a
new cycle’s survey becomes available, SED Institution Contacts will receive a “Launch” email notifying the
institution.
✓ A student registered with the incorrect graduation date and/or misspelled their name—what should I
tell the student?
The SED staff can make this correction on behalf of the student. Please ask your student to contact the SED
Help Desk at [email protected] with the following information:
o First and Last Name
o Certificate of Completion confirmation number
o Description of the error/what information needs to be corrected
o Description of the correct information

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED EMAIL WHEN NEW INSTITUTION CONTACT (IC) OR LIST COORDINATOR
(LC) IS IDENTIFIED

Subject: Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED): ICAT Login Credentials

Dear :
We appreciate your interest in the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). We
understand that you have requested login credentials for your institution’s ICAT website.
The SED Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT) contains information necessary for ICs to
administer the SED on their campus. To access your institution’s ICAT, please click
https://sedsurvey.org/Account/Login.

UserName:
Password:
You will be asked to change your password on your first login.
Please reply to this email or contact us at 1-877-256-8167 if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Peter Einaudi
Project Director
Survey of Earned Doctorates
RTI International

Email to New Institution Contact
Dear ,
You have now been designated as the Institution Contact (IC) for . You should have
received an automated email from [email protected], which contains your username, temporary password,
and a link to the Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT), which you will use to upload related
documentation.
The most common uses of the ICAT are to (a) upload documents (Graduation Lists, Address Rosters,
Missing Information Rosters) and to (b) look at students’ survey statuses (Registered, In Progress, or
Complete). I have also attached the 2024 SED Job Aid, which provides an overview of your role as the
Institution Contact (IC). It includes helpful FAQs on pages 5-7.
The main responsibilities of an Institution Contact (IC) are to:
a) Direct your research doctorate students to complete the survey at https://sed-ncses.org.
We highly recommend the survey link be listed on a graduation checklist.
b) Provide a Graduation List of research doctorate graduates per graduation. I’ve also attached
a Graduation List Template you can use to provide the requested data.
To Submit a Graduation List
1. Go to https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT
• Enter your username <(IC Username)> and password.
• Click “forgot password” if you cannot recall your password.
2. Click on Upload Forms, located at top left of page
3. Select “Graduation List”
4. Click the Upload Graduation List button
5. The successfully uploaded file will appear in two places:
(1) Recent Uploads section on the Uploads Forms page
(2) Document Status table on the School Summary (Home) page.
**Your Institution ID is **
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or if you need additional clarification.
Best,
SED Data Collection Team
Tel: 1-877-256-8167| [email protected]
SED Survey Link: https://sed-ncses.org
SED Info Site: https://sedsurvey.org/
SED 2018 Results: https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf20301/
More Info: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctorates/

GRADUATION LIST PROMPTING EMAIL – SUMMER, FALL, SPRING, WINTER
Subject: Survey of Earned Doctorates (SchoolID): Graduation List
Dear [IC/LC NAME],
Thank you for your institution’s continued support of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED).
At this time, we would like to ask you to submit your institution’s graduation list(s) for all students
awarded a research doctoral degree in .
To submit the graduation list, please log onto your ICAT website, and follow the instructions below:

1.
Go to https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT and enter your username [USER_NAME] and password.
(If you do not know your password click “forgot password”, click “yes” to the question “I know my
username” and enter your username. Your password will be emailed to you.)
2.

Click on the Upload Forms page

3.

Select Graduation List

4.

Download a Graduation List Template (if needed)

5.

Enter the requested information into the Graduation Template

6.

Click the Upload Graduation List button

7.
A successfully uploaded file will appear in the list of Recent Form Uploads and in the Document
Status table on the School Summary page.

Should you have any questions, please contact us at 1-877-256-8167 or [email protected].

We really appreciate your assistance with our effort to collect accurate counts of the SED research
doctorates in the United States.

[INSERT NAME]
SED Data Collection Team
877-256-8167
[email protected]

Thank you for ensuring that your doctoral students are directed to https://sed-ncses.org to complete
the SED.

ADDRESS ROSTER REQUEST— EMAIL TO INSTITUTION CONTACTS: LOW RESPONSE SCHOOLS

Subject: Information request for the Survey of Earned Doctorates

Dear :
Thank you for your continued support of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). In order to maintain a
high response rate in the SED, we need your assistance in obtaining contact information for your
graduates who have not yet completed the survey, to encourage them to respond.
To access the Address Roster, please log in to the ICAT website (https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT):
1. Log in using your ICAT Username and Password
2. Select the Data Collection menu and then Select Address Roster
a. Download the Address Roster (Excel spreadsheet)
b. Add the requested information for the graduates listed
3. Click on Upload Forms and select Address Roster
a. Upload the completed Address Roster
4. A successfully uploaded file will appear in the list of Recent Form Uploads and in the Document
Status table on the School Summary page
If you have any questions, please contact us at 877-256-8167 or at [email protected].
The student contact information is exempt from FERPA protections as per guidance from the United
States Department of Education. To review this document, click here:
https://edsurveys.rti.org/sedinfo/Content/pdf/FERPA_Letter_SED.pdf
Your prompt response to our request is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.
Sincerely,
Kelly H. Kang
Project Officer
Survey of Earned Doctorates
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation

ADDRESS ROSTER REQUEST— EMAIL TO INSTITUTION CONTACTS: HIGH RESPONSE SCHOOLS

Subject line: Information request for the Survey of Earned Doctorates

Dear :
Thank you for your continued support of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). We appreciate your
efforts in achieving a high SED response rate from your students. At this time, we need your assistance
in obtaining contact information for a few of your graduates who have not yet completed the survey.
To access the Address Roster, please log in to the ICAT website (https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT):
1. Log in using your ICAT Username and Password
2. Select the Data Collection menu and then Select Address Roster
a. Download the Address Roster (Excel spreadsheet)
b. Add the requested information for the graduates listed
3. Click on Upload Forms and select Address Roster
a. Upload the completed Address Roster
4. A successfully uploaded file will appear in the list of Recent Form Uploads and in the Document
Status table on the School Summary page
If you have any questions, please contact us at 877-256-8167 or at [email protected].
The student contact information is exempt from FERPA protections as per guidance from the United
States Department of Education. To review this document, click here
https://edsurveys.rti.org/sedinfo/Content/pdf/FERPA_Letter_SED.pdf
Your prompt response to our request is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.
Sincerely,
Kelly H. Kang
Project Officer
Survey of Earned Doctorates
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation

MISSING INFORMATION ROSTER EMAIL TO INSTITUTION CONTACTS (ICs)
Subject line: Survey of Earned Doctorates: Request for Important Information from NSF
Dear [Salutation] [Last Name]:
As Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) for the academic year 2022 comes to a close, we need your
assistance one last time for important key information for the doctorate recipients from your institution
who have not completed the SED.
To access the Missing Information Roster, please login to the SED ICAT website
(https://sedsurvey.org/Home/ICAT)
1. Log in using your ICAT Username and Password
2. Select the Data Collection menu and then Select Missing Information Roster
a. Download the Missing Information Roster (Excel spreadsheet)
b. Add the requested information for the graduates listed
c. When providing the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code for the doctorate
field of study, please make sure the CIP code is in the following format xx.xxxx.
3. Click on Upload Forms and select Missing Information Roster
a. Upload the completed Missing Information Roster
4. A successfully uploaded file will appear in the list of Recent Form Uploads and in the Document
Status table on the School Summary page
We would appreciate your submission by October 31, 2024. If you have questions, please e-mail us at
[email protected] or call us at 877-256-8167.
The student information is exempt from FERPA protections as per guidance from the United States
Department of Education. To review this document, click here:
https://edsurveys.rti.org/sedinfo/Content/pdf/FERPA_Letter_SED.pdf.
Thank you for your continued assistance and support for this important national survey.
Sincerely,
Kelly H. Kang
Project Officer
Survey of Earned Doctorates
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation
SED data are being collected under contract by RTI International, a nonprofit research organization, for
NSF.

GRADUATE SCHOOL DEAN THANK YOU LETTER (SENT WITH 2021 SED DATA)

Dear :
On behalf of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the other federal sponsors of the Survey of
Earned Doctorates (SED), I would like to thank you for your institution’s support of the SED.
The 2022 SED data collection ended a few months ago, and I want you to know how much we
appreciate you and your colleagues at «institution_name», especially «contact1_first_name»
«contact1_last_name», «contact2_first_name» «contact2_last_name», the university contact(s) for
assistance on the SED. Your support and the work of your staff contribute to making the SED a rich and
valuable database on doctoral educations.
Enclosed is the Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities report with the results from the 2024 SED
(academic year ending June 30, 2024). This report provides information on major trends in doctoral
education and addresses important question about doctorate recipients. The online version of the
report, plus additional data tables can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/sed/.
Also enclosed is a profile of your institution’s research doctorate recipients from the 2022 SED. The
profile includes statistics on the demographic characteristics, debt status, and postdoctoral plans of your
doctorate recipients, with comparisons to national-level data and to data from peer institutions in the
same Carnegie classification.
Your institution’s profile may be of limited use if many of your institution’s doctorate recipients did not
respond to the SED. At the bottom of the first page of the profile is a “response rate” calculation so that
you can gauge your doctorate recipients’ participation level in the SED (national average response rate is
92 percent). Each institution’s contribution to attaining the highest response rate possible maximizes the
usefulness of SED data.
Again, our thanks to you and your staff for helping to make the SED a success. We look forward to
continued collaboration with your institution on the SED.
Sincerely,
Kelly H. Kang
Project Officer
Survey of Earned Doctorates
National Center for Science and Engineering
Statistics National Science Foundation
cc: Coord 1, Coord 2

New Institution Graduate School Dean Letter
[DATE]
[Dean FirstName LastName]
[Dean Title]
[School Name]
[Address 1]
[Address 2]
[City, State Zip]
Dear [Dean Title] [Dean LastName],
Based on a recent review of the research doctoral degree programs at [School Name], we have identified your
institution’s [ProgramName] as eligible for the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). I am writing to provide you with
an overview of the SED.
The SED is an annual census of U.S. research doctoral degree recipients, sponsored by the National Science
Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Education, and the National Endowment of
Humanities. The SED provides valuable information to policymakers and leaders in higher education about the
characteristics of doctorate recipients and investments in graduate student support. Data collection activities are
currently contracted to RTI International. To view the latest SED annual report, please go to
https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23300
The survey asks recent doctoral graduates about their educational history, post-graduation plans, and
demographic information. The survey data are aggregated into a profile for each institution, allowing you to assess
doctorate trends within your institution as well as those at other peer institutions. I am enclosing a brochure with
additional information about the survey.
The SED maintains extremely high response rates (92%) every year with the support of all doctorate granting
institutions in the U.S. Your institution is invited to participate in the SED by:
•

Providing a list of all research doctoral degree recipients for each commencement from [School Name] for
us to establish an accurate survey frame of the graduates;

•

Distributing the SED web survey URL to all graduates who earned a research doctorate in the current
academic year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024); and

•

Providing contact information for graduates who did not responded to the SED so that we can follow up
with a reminder to complete the survey.

At this time, we would like to request your nomination of an Institution Contact who can oversee the SED
administration at your institution. Please contact us at [email protected] or (877) 256-8167 with the nominee’s contact
information and any questions you may have. Thank you in advance for your participation and support of the SED.
Sincerely,
Kelly H. Kang
SED Project Officer
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation

Uses of the Data and Best Practices

Uses of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)
The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is an accurate, timely source of information on our
nation’s research doctorates. The SED uniquely provides comprehensive information on the
educational history and early career commitments of recent U.S. educated doctorate recipients.
The resulting information is a valuable resource for government agencies, universities,
professional societies, academic researchers, policymakers, program evaluators, and individuals
doing research in science policy, graduate education, economics, and human resource planning.
Each academic year, the results of the SED become part of the Doctorate Records File (DRF), a
complete database of more than 2 million U.S. educated doctorate recipients from 1921 to the
present.
The National Science Foundation and collaborating agencies have made extensive use of the
SED. Detailed tables, tabulations, and data are used by these agencies in program planning and
evaluation, policy development, and dissemination.

Academic Institutions Uses of the SED Data
The nation’s doctorate-granting institutions not only provide SED data but also use the data.
Each year since 1997, NCSES has provided the dean of each graduate school a profile of their
doctorate recipients’ demographic characteristics, debt status, postgraduation plans,
employment, and other activities, compared with national and peer-institution data.
Graduate and baccalaureate institutions use SED data for program planning, comparison with
other institutions or with national figures, and in the development of affirmative action plans.
The number of SED research doctorates awarded to racial/ethnic minorities by field of study is
used extensively by institutions as the only reliable source on the diversity of the potential pool
of applicants for academic employment positions.

Below are specific examples of how academic institutions utilize Survey of Earned Doctorates
(SED) data, methods, and instrumentation:

•Institutional reporting, particularly useful in understanding:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Graduate experiences to improve program design
Employment placement information/career outcomes
Graduate debt and financial impact on students
Graduate demographics
Postgraduation plans by race/ethnicity and field of study
Postgraduate career outcomes
Graduate funding sources

•Instrumentation
o

o

Comparisons between institutional instrumentation and SED instrumentation, allowing
for consistency across data output
Corroborate institutionally collected data and summarization

•Data Comparisons between institutional level data and national level data

•Supplement to other survey results such as the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) PhD Career
Pathways project

•Custom table creation (for specific examples, see the Figures 1 and 2 on following page)

Data Visualizations Utilizing Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) Data:
Figure 1:Example of an Institution’s Primary Research Doctorate Funding Source Trends

Figure 2: Example of an Institution’s Research Doctorate Debt and Expected Income

The National Science Foundation SED Publications
The Survey of Earned Doctorates produces standard data products annually.
The Baccalaureate-Origins of U.S. Research Doctorate Recipients report provides tables with
counts of doctorate recipients from each baccalaureate-origin institution, including U.S. and
non-U.S. institutions. Counts are classified by broad field of doctoral study, sex, citizenship
status, and race/ethnicity for the most recent available academic year. This report also includes
tables with counts of doctorate recipients from each baccalaureate-origin institution over a
five-year span, sorted by the Carnegie classification for U.S. institutions. All tables include ranks
based on the counts.
Similarly, detailed tables and data files are available to the doctorate-granting institutions that
participate in the SED (see the data products link below). These detailed tables include the
institution’s DRF and preliminary data files.
For additional information on these reports go to:
https://sedsurvey.org/DataUsers/DataProducts
There is no public-use SED data file available currently; however, selected SED data items are
available to the public via web through the NCSES Interactive Data Tool. The new SED
Restricted Data Analysis System (RDAS) is an online data tool designed to expand public access to
the SED data. The SED RDAS data is based on a sample subjected to statistical procedures to
produce estimates that reflect the entire population of doctorate recipients and protect the
confidentiality of individual level data. The RDAS provides a secure platform to access a
comprehensive set of SED variables.
NCSES publishes detailed statistical tables each December (12 months after the close of data
collection for the previous academic year), followed by additional statistical reports. In addition,
organizations and individuals can request special tabulations from NCSES or the survey
contractor. Lastly, researchers at U.S. institutions may gain access to the Doctorate Record File
(DRF) by completing a NCSES Restricted-Use Data Licensing Agreement.

Special survey data tabulations constitute a key resource in meeting NSF policy and program
needs.
Below are specific examples of how the NSF uses Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) data:
• NSF’s Congressionally-mandated biennial reports, Science and Engineering Indicators, and
Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.

• Academic Institution Profiles and Science and Engineering State Profiles websites.

• Presentations of data on doctorates awarded to minorities and women to the National Science
Board and the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) for
examining the participation of these groups in graduate education.

• Improvements in support of the Careers of Doctorate Holders project, an international effort
led by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of the quality
and comparability of international data on doctorate holders.

• Information to outside users at the national level, including the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy and the National Academy of Sciences.

• The universe frame for sample selection of doctoral scientists and engineers for the NCESE’
Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR).

• Programs within NSF, especially those dealing with women, minorities, and persons with
disabilities, use data from the SED for program planning. For instance, NSF’s Graduate
Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) has used SED information on those who complete a PhD
to evaluate the effectiveness of the GRFP and its design requirements. While most NSF
programs focus on U.S. citizens, SED data on foreign citizens studying in the U.S. for their PhD
are also useful for international comparisons and for quantifying the attraction of U.S.
graduate education around the world.
•Publication of detailed statistical tables and reports on science and engineering doctorates.
The first report to be released each year is available publicly in December, 12 months following
the close of data collection from the previous academic year. The most recent report, 2019,
may be found here. Additional reports follow, providing more detailed data or additional
analysis of the results from the SED.

Recent Publications Using the SED Data
•

Radomir Ray Mitic & Christian P.L. West, Council of Graduate Schools (2021) “Selected
Insights from the Latest NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates Data”

•

Okahana, H., Zhou, E., & Gao, J. (2020). Graduate enrollment and degrees: 2009 to
2019. Council of Graduate Schools.

•

Langin, Katie. “For new PhD recipients, postgraduation employment numbers are on the
rise.” Science, December 2018

•

Jackson, Joanna R., et al. “Graduation and Academic Placement of Underrepresented
Racial/Ethnic Minority Doctoral Recipients in Public Health Disciplines.” Public Health
Reports, November 2018

•

Deen, Lango. “Investing in STEM and Scholarship., U.S. Black Engineers, October 2018

•

Kahn, Shulamit, MacGarvie, Megan. “Immigration Policy and Stay Rates of STEM PhDs.”,
International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (STI 2018), September
2018

•

“America’s Top Colleges 2018.” Forbes, August 2018

•

Brown-Podgorski, Brittany L., et al. “Employment Trends Among Public Health Doctoral
Recipients.” Research and Practice, July 2018

•

Goldstone, Heather, Partan, Elsa. “Lack of Progress on Diversity in the Sciences.” Cape,
Coast, and Islands NPR, July 2018

•

Kniffin, Kevin M., Hanks, Andrew S. “The Trade-Offs of Teamwork Among STEM Doctoral
Graduates.’ American Psychologist, May 2018

•

Bernard, Rachel E., Cooperdock, Emily H.G. “No Progress on Diversity in 40 Years.”
Nature Geoscience, May 2018

•

Jones, Todd R., Ehrenberg, Ronald G. “Are High-Quality PhD Programs at Universities
Associated with More Undergraduate Students Pursuing PhD Study?” Cornell Higher
Education Research Institute, April 2018

•

Flaherty, Colleen. “How New Humanities PhDs Fare.” Inside Higher Ed, June 2018;
Redden, Elizabeth. “Will U.S. Restrict Visas for Chinese Students.” Inside Higher Ed,
March 2018

•

Reys, Robert. “Doctoral Programs in Mathematics Education: Should Programs be
Accredited?” Journal of Mathematics Education, Spring 2018

•

Baum, Sandy, Steele, Patricia. “After Graduate and Professional School: How Students
Fare in the Labor Market.” Urban Institute, February 2018

•

ScienceDirect, Audrey Jaeger and Alessandra J. Dinin, “The Postdoc Landscape: The
Invisible Scholars”, October 2017

How To Obtain a High SED Response Rate
A high response rate among institutions and graduates is essential to the statistical integrity of
the data. High-quality data ensure that analyses and policy decisions are based on all research
doctorate recipients. Further, participation in the SED ensures your institution’s doctorate
recipients are represented in the Doctorate Records File, a data bank on U.S. doctorate
recipients reaching back to 1920.
Below are suggested actions to aid in obtaining a high SED response rate:

Distribute the SED web survey link (https://sed-ncses.org) three to four months prior to
graduation for each student applying for graduation of a research doctorate.

Link the SED survey to your institution's exit survey (https://sed-ncses.org).

Include the completion of the SED on a graduation checklist for your research
doctorates and add https://sed-ncses.org to the graduation checklist.

Upload the graduation list via the SED Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT).

Monitor the completion rate via the ICAT and prompt students who have not completed
the survey.

E-mail any nonresponding students using the new e-mail feature in the ICAT.

Recent SED Universe and Response Rates
SED AY 2019:
Of the 55,703 individuals granted a research doctorate in 2019, 92.1% completed the SED.
SED AY2020:
Of the 55,283 individuals granted a research doctorate in 2020, 92.1% completed the SED.
SED AY 2021:
Of the 52,250 individuals granted a research doctorate in 2021, 91.5% completed the SED

Graduation List Template
Institution First
ID
Name

Middle
Last
Name
Name
(optional)

Grad Grad Degree Field Of Email
Address Address City
Month Year Type
Study
Address Line 1
Line 2

State

Zip

City

State

Country Phone Advisor
Name

Address Roster Template
SED
Reference
ID

School First Middle Last
Field of Email Phone Address
Name Name Name Name Graduation Study
Line 1
Date

Missing Information Roster Template

Address
Line 2
(optional)

ZIP
Code

Country Notes