The statement below was endorsed by the Chief Academic Officers representing the universities that make up the Association of American Universities at their annual meeting on September 12, 2017.
Numerous high-level reports over the past two decades have identified ways to improve PhD education. One frequently identified barrier to improvement is the lack of transparent data on PhD programs. The Chief Academic Officers of the Association of American Universities call on all PhD granting universities and their respective PhD granting colleges, schools, and departments, to make a commitment to providing prospective and current students with easily accessible information. This should include data on matters such as student demographics, time to degree, financial support, and career paths and outcomes within and outside of academia. AAU institutions should commit to developing the infrastructure and institutional policies required to uniformly capture and make public such data.