Graduate Student Resilience: Exploring Influential Success Factors in U.S. Graduate Education through Survey Analysis

Graduate education holds the potential to stimulate personal growth in individuals that leads to economically viable career opportunities. First-generation college students, underrepresented minorities (URM), and females often face unique obstacles that can undermine their progress in graduate programs. These obstacles may be more pervasive in fields where these students have lower enrollment, such as STEM graduate programs. The Graduate Student Success Survey+ (GSSS+) was broadly distributed to a national population of graduate students in the United States, with a particular focus on seeking the participation of students from universities that serve first-generation, URM, and female graduate students, capturing both STEM and non-STEM programs. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the survey’s validity and reliability, with 648 participants from 23 universities. A 7-factor, 40-item model was determined with the following subscales: mentor support, imposter phenomenon, financial support, microaggressions (race and gender), access and opportunity, resilience, and peer support. Item analysis revealed differences in students’ perceptions of their graduate school experiences based on gender identity, racial and ethnic groups, residency status, enrollment type, program type, and program area. Findings lead to recommendations related to financial support, mental health counseling, and access and opportunity, to enhance graduate student success.