Graduate and Postdoctoral Education: 2024 Year in Review
Welcome to our annual review of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education at Georgia Tech. This year has been marked by significant growth, innovative initiatives, and outstanding achievements.
Signature GPE Event Highlights
1
Celebrated Grad Student Appreciation Week
In April, we celebrated our graduate students with a week of events and the Three Minute Thesis competition. 2024 marked the first year of goat yoga, which was a hit for grad students.
Thank you to Casey Hendricks for leading this event.
2
Launched the Postdoc Visibility Project
In 2024, we launched the Postdoc Visibility Project, which emphasized the work of postdocs on campus. It included a video series, articles, and culminated with a reception for postdocs on campus.
Thank you to Karena Nguyen for leading this event.
3
Hosted Inaugural Graduate Education Symposium
This landmark event brought together faculty, staff, and graduate students to address the evolving landscape of graduate education.
Year in Photos
Top Stories

Graduate Education

NSF Awards Fellowships to 60 Georgia Tech Graduate Students

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded 61 Georgia Tech students with Graduate Research Fellowships (GRF). The fellowships, valued at $159,000 each, include funding for three years of graduate study and tuition.

Graduate Education

Celebrating a New School Year and Growth in Graduate Enrollment at Georgia Tech

As we continue to celebrate the successful start of the academic school year, Georgia Tech’s Office of Graduate Education welcomes 10,730 new graduate students, a 26% increase from last year. This growth is largely due to the increased popularity of Tech’s online master's programs, which have seen a 37% surge in new enrollments, totaling 7,190 new students.

Graduate Education

Meet the Women Leading Postdoctoral Education at Tech

Bonnie Ferri, vice provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education and professor in the School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringBonnie Ferri has been a trailblazer at Georgia Tech since the day she stepped on the historic campus. After earning a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and a master’s in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University, Ferri came to Tech to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

Graduate Education

Women-Centered Mentorship Provides Empowerment to Conquer Ph.D.

Breanna Shi, a student in the bioinformatics Ph.D. program, discovered the importance of student-led support groups early on in her graduate education journey. Since then, she has taken on a variety of mentorship roles, including co-organizing the 2024 Women Computational Biology Cohort with fellow Ph.D. bioinformatics student Zoey Yang.

Graduate Enrollment Growth
231%
Enrollment Increase
Over the past 10 years, driven by OMSCS program.
36K+
Applications
17% increase in applications submitted for Fall 2024.
12,705
Accepted Admissions
74% yield rate across all graduate programs.
Fall 2024 Graduate Enrollment
36,000+
Total applications submitted, 17% increase from previous year
24,486
Master's applications, 17% increase
8,459
Ph.D. applications, 16% increase
8,153
Online Master of Science applications, 36% increase
1,026
BS/MS applications, 33% increase
Accepted Admissions

1

2

3

4

5

1
12,705
Accepted their offer of admission, 74% yield rate
2
848
Ph.D.: 9% increase, 46% yield
3
11,153
Master's: 27% increase, 78% yield
4
8,153
Online Master of Science: 38% increase, ~90% yield
5
525
BS/MS: 16% increase, 74% yield
Strategic Initiatives
Financial Strategies for Graduate Students
The working group sought stakeholder feedback, reviewed recommendations made by a consultation from the Council of Graduate Schools, collected relevant data, and reviewed current policies and practices and developed 20 strategies.  
These strategies were grouped into three main topics with corresponding sample projects listed below them:  
  • Strategies for Financial Models of Support  
  • Provide health insurance subsidies for full fellowship students  
  • Create financial assistance mechanisms for graduate students  
  • Strategies for Terms and Conditions of Employment 
  • Provide optional training for students and postdocs navigating professional boundaries 
  • Increase Transparency in offer letters  
  • Create a Satisfactory Academic Progress policy for PhD students  
  • Strategies for Student Engagement and Well-Being 
Graduate Transformative Teaching and Learning
Under the topic of high touch, holistic education, this committee was charged with developing goals, objectives, and strategies. The main themes to be considered were: 
1
Advising and Mentoring 
Mentoring Workshop Series  
2
Academic Support and Enrichment 
Graduate Education Symposium  Knack Tutoring  
3
Innovative Curricular and Co-curricular Models 
Graduate Minor Credentials  
PEGS Funding  
  • The 2024-2025 submission cycle focused on the recruitment and retention of graduate students that supports the Institute Strategic Plan initiative on Transformative Teaching and Learning (TTL) in Graduate Education 
  • 50 submissions received, 31 grants awarded, resulting in a total of over $410,000 in grant funding 
Experiences of Graduate Students and Postdocs
Institutional Strategic Plan: Big Bet 3.3  
Enhance the experience of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers relative to other leading research universities.  
This new initiative began this year. The Financial Strategies for Graduate Students and the Graduate Transformative Teaching and Learning Initiative implementation phases are included in ISP Big Bet 3.
Graduate Student Services by the Numbers
5,700+
Students engaged in orientation
759
Theses and dissertations cleared
$9.7M
Fellowship funding awarded
516
GT6000 Enrollment
690+
Fellowship Awards
4,440+
GRAs/GTAs Fall and Spring
Postdoctoral Services Achievements
Workshops and Events
Facilitated six workshop series, six webinars, three standalone workshops, and hosted four social events, reaching a grand total engagement of 384 postdocs.
Coordinated and produced the Postdoc Visibility Project.
Publications by Karena Nguyen, Assistant Director of Postdoctoral Services
One Peer-Reviewed Paper
Cohort-based programs facilitate skill development and community building for postdoctoral scholars.

Frontiers

Frontiers | Cohort-based programs facilitate skill development and community building for postdoctoral scholars: a pilot study

Postdoctoral scholars (“postdocs”) occupy a distinct academic stage and therefore have unique career and professional development needs. We aimed to explore ...

Three Co-Authored Op-Eds
Navigating the Postdoc Office

Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs

The benefits of an administrative job in a postdoc office (opinion)

Victoria Hallinan and Karena Nguyen describe how working in one can offer a fruitful career path and some of the specific roles and responsibilities involved.

Navigating the Postdoc Office: Part 2

Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs

Advice for pursuing a career path in a postdoc office (opinion)

Victoria Hallinan and Karena Nguyen share their advice, as well as that of a postdoc and several other administrators, about pursuing this career path.

Joining Hands Across Institutions Makes Light Work

THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect

Joining hands across institutions makes light work

Communities of practice can help overextended faculty and staff maximise programme impact and bandwidth for career practitioners

Graduate Career Development Achievements
74 Workshops & Events
Out of the 8,970 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who engaged with Georgia Tech Career Center programs, 5,061 (56%) graduate students participated in programs led by the Graduate Career Development team.
661 Advising Appointments
661 advising appointments were conducted with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. 343 students utilized drop-in advising services.
1,504 Graduate Internship Participants
1,504 students participated in the Graduate Internship Program.
Spring 2024: 200, Summer 2024: 925, Fall 2024: 379
New Hires
Hired Graduate Internship Program Manager, who created new Canvas course to track student assignments, updated web pages, and streamlined processes in collaboration with OIE and the Career Center.
Onboarded manager for OMS career services who has started offering tailored programs for OMS students and professional education learners.
Career Center Achievements
1
#1 in Career Placement
Ranked by Princeton Review for 3rd consecutive year.
2
31,728 Student Engagements
25% increase in career fair and service interactions.
3
3,890 Co-ops and Internships
Including 1,373 graduate internships registered.
4
556 Employers
For Career Fairs and 1,360 employers hired students for co-ops and internships
5
New Tools
Launched new website and Iris Air and photo booths installed and operating.
6
Award Winning
IDEI Diversity Champion Award for a Campus Unit, Career Collective Career Innovation Award, NAC
Staff Recognition
Marc Ebelhar
Institute's "Putting Students First" award, Graduate Outreach award from Grad SGA, NASPA leadership team member.
James Black
President, Georgia Council of Graduate Schools.
Gwenn Seo
Grad SGA Faculty Award.
Bonnie Ferri
Grad SGA Friend of the Graduate Student Award.
Karena Nguyen
Rising Wreck Staff Award.
Mentoring Initiative
1
2
Launched two "Mentoring Conversations" workshop series for research mentors.
3
Developed and facilitated onboarding two workshops for graduate student peer mentors.
4
Looking Ahead
As we reflect on our achievements, we're excited for the future. Our commitment to excellence in graduate and postdoctoral education continues to drive innovation and success at Georgia Tech.
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