The University of California is a magnet for the best graduate students in the country.

A recent report found that UC leads the nation in drawing high-quality graduate students to its 10 campuses. Applications to UC academic graduate programs rose 5 percent annually from 2000-09, compared with 3.5 percent at other top research universities. In 2009, UC had 7 percent of all the graduate students in the United States, and they won 20 to 30 percent of the most competitive and prestigious fellowships in science, arts and humanities.

In surveys, UC graduate students rated their UC and their non-UC top choice schools equally high on reputation, research interest and caring environment. Yet those same surveys rated UC less favorably on the amount, type and duration of financial support as well as on the availability of affordable housing—a concern if UC is to retain its high-caliber graduate students who are central in our research programs and recruitment and retention of first-rate faculty.

Grad students help drive recruitment and retention of faculty and UC research
“Top faculty come to UC for many reasons,” said UC President Mark Yudof. “The eminence of the department matters, but they would not come to a place without vibrant graduate programs and without outstanding graduate students.”

“UC is one of the leading academic research enterprises in the world, and graduate students play an important role in conducting the research,” said Steven Beckwith, UC vice president for research and graduate studies. “They spark ideas, make discoveries, enrich the arts and work to solve some of society’s most pressing problems as they work at the cutting edge of knowledge.”

Read more: Graduate students drive UC research, help keep top faculty

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