Departments with low/no graduate enrollments worrysome?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around concerns regarding graduate programs in astronomy and astrophysics that report low or no enrollments. Participants explore the implications of these statistics, potential reasons behind them, and the reliability of the data presented.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that several programs, including Case Western, Ohio State, and Rice University, have reported low enrollments for multiple years, raising questions about the accuracy of the data or the programs' appeal.
  • Another participant suggests that discrepancies between reported enrollments and actual graduate student directories may indicate issues with how departments manage admissions and funding.
  • Some participants propose that departments may admit more students than they can financially support, leading to a gap between admitted and enrolled students.
  • It is mentioned that low enrollment may not necessarily be a negative indicator, as smaller programs can provide better support and networking opportunities for students.
  • One participant expresses skepticism about the reliability of the data, pointing out inconsistencies between departmental reports and AIP statistics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of low graduate enrollments, with some suggesting it could be a warning sign while others argue it may not be problematic. There is no consensus on whether the reported data is accurate or what it signifies for prospective students.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight potential limitations in the data, including discrepancies in enrollment reporting and the financial dynamics of graduate admissions. The discussion remains open-ended regarding the implications of these factors.

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I have been looking at several graduate programs in astronomy/astrophysics and I've come across a few with track records of low enrollments according to AIP:

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/archives/astrost10.pdf

Statistics from previous years: http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/archives/astrorost.htm

Case Western, Ohio State and Rice University for example have had 0 or 1 graduate enrollments several years in a row, even when according to gradschoolshopper (who get their data from AIP, though I don't know where), they admit many more students than the number that actually enroll. The one with 0 enrollments several years straight was Rice U.

I'm guessing this can mean one or more of the following:

-The data is wrong.
-More students are admitted that can be actually fully funded by the department, hence admitted students turn them down when they get offers with no/low tuition remission and stipend.
-Students simply took up better offers elsewhere, somewhere with palm trees.

Is this a warning sign to stay away from these universities or is it some error in the report? I quite like the programs at cwru and Ohio, I thought they had a very good reputation.
 
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If you look on their web pages under "graduate student directory" or similar, do you see graduate students? Where do you think they came from?
 
Vanadium 50 said:
If you look on their web pages under "graduate student directory" or similar, do you see graduate students? Where do you think they came from?

From storks. :)

I have already looked at them. CWRU and Rice don't state the year they enrolled (Rice doesn't even state if they're in the physics or astronomy phd tracks) and Ohio only shows one grad student who graduated in 2010, which agrees with the AIP roster from 2010. But then again, any of the other students that graduated earlier could have enrolled that same year. I have already found some discrepancies between what grad departments report on their pages and what shows on the AIP roster.

I am wondering if it's common for graduate departments to send out more offers of admission than they can actually afford to sponsor, hence the sometimes large difference between the number of admitted and enrolled students.
 
Last edited:
Lavabug said:
From storks. :)


I am wondering if it's common for graduate departments to send out more offers of admission than they can actually afford to sponsor, hence the sometimes large difference between the number of admitted and enrolled students.

Extremely common. I would almost say they all do it. You never know how many people are going to enroll.

That said, low enrollment isn't necessarily a red flag. Departments with a handful of students can give them really good support, and you can get to know everyone, which is critical when you want to get a job in the future.
 
If they have 75 grad students listed on their site, I would not worry about low enrollment.
 

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