The PhD Pipeline

As computer science (CS) departments throughout the US struggle to recruit domestic doctoral students (those who are US citizens or permanent residents), the CS research pipeline continues to be a cause for concern. International students have long been crucial to the vitality of US doctoral programs as well as to research productivity, but increasingly, these graduates return to their native countries for compelling job opportunities. Thus, the domestic PhD pipeline is important to the future of American universities, companies, government agencies, and federal research labs. We summarize Education Committee of the Computing Research Association´s (CRA-E) recent findings on the research pipeline, describe initiatives, and make further recommendations that will be useful for higher learning institutions, professional organizations, and employers who hire and work closely with recent PhD graduates.