Mission/Vision

MISSION

CIRGE was founded to undertake systematic research on the career paths of PhD recipients and the assessment of the quality of doctoral programs by asking PhD alumni. We undertake evaluation studies of innovations in doctoral education. Our central mission is to improve graduate education by analyzing student retrospective assessment of graduate programs and by evaluating innovation in graduate education. The findings of our research have led us to challenge common assumptions about doctoral education, pushed us to expand our understanding of what makes a successful doctoral education outcome, and led us to place our research into an international context

VISION

CIRGE’s vision is to be a catalyst for change and innovation in graduate education by establishing a critical research agenda on graduate education. We aim to become a national research center on graduate education, with a repository of national PhD recipient data and international trend assessment of doctoral education worldwide. Through our studies, we will establish empirical (qualitative and quantitative) bases for trend assessment and thus become a visible and trusted resource of information on graduate education practices and outcomes.Our ValuesCIRGE believes the values below are essential in our modern, knowledge-based, global world and strives to incorporate them in our work.

OUR VALUES

Collaboration:  The new challenges being faced by graduate education programs demand collaboration that can generate viable, real-world solutions.LEADERSHIP/SERVICEThere is a need for leaders who are aware of and attentive to the global context of the issues we face. Also, there is a need for leadership by multi-skilled individuals who have interdisciplinary knowledge to help solve complex local, national and international problems.

Global Awareness:  People educated in the context of global awareness will have skills and tools to interact and respond effectively to globally shared concerns. This education will foster the notion of a citizen who crosses national boundaries without seeking to assimilate and homogenize, but instead to accept differences and value diversity.

Diversity and Inclusion:  Changes in society are reflected in a more diverse student body reaching the doctoral level and yet doctoral education has not fully responded to this changed student body

Program Quality and Relevance:  Sensational media reporting has covered humanities PhDs who are driving trucks or postdocs who are treated as slave labor. In response, research and analysis on the career trajectories of former students, and their retrospective evaluations of the effectiveness of their graduate programs is crucial for academic institutions to improve the quality of their graduate programs, remain competitive, and respond to the increasing accountability required by governments and private funders.