Doctoral students are required to complete two surveys before their dissertation deposit is complete. We recommend students complete these surveys early in the deposit process. Students may decline to answer any or all of the questions. When students submit each survey, confirmation will be sent to both the student and the Thesis Office.

Doctoral Exit Survey

The Doctoral Exit Survey allows Illinois to compare students’ experiences in its doctoral programs with those of students from peer institutions. Data from this survey helps improve doctoral programs on our campus. De-identified data from this survey are forwarded to the Association of American Universities (AAU) Data Exchange. Data compiled by AAU from member institutions facilitates the sharing of information nationally and provides a data pool that is used to shape graduate education at the national level. DMA and AuD students who are not depositing a thesis are also required to complete this survey.

Survey of Earned Doctorates

The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is conducted by the RTI International for the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and other supporting institutions. For more information about the Survey of Earned Doctorates, visit their website. The SED survey is only required for PhD and JD students.