EIU Media Relations

Survey Results are Additional Proof of EIU's Quality Instruction

Since the success of students in doctoral programs can be one measure of the quality of instruction at the undergraduate level, officials at Eastern Illinois University are feeling pretty good about their institution.

Recently released results from the Survey of Earned Doctorates -- a federal agency survey, or census, conducted annually by the National Organization for Research -- indicate that many Eastern graduates have done their alma mater proud by continuing their education, seeking doctorates and achieving their educational goals.

The survey reports that 313 EIU graduates obtained doctoral degrees in the years 1997 through 2006.  This means that as a baccalaureate-origin institution, Eastern ranked number one among 22 master's colleges and universities within Illinois, and number 26 among 570 master's colleges and universities in the United States, for that ten-year time period.

(Only schools with 10 or more recipients were included in the study.)

The SED gathers information annually from 45,000 new U.S. research doctorate graduates about their educational histories, funding sources and post-doctoral plans.  (Only recipients of research doctorates were included in the survey.  Therefore, recipients of professional degrees, such as medical doctors, veterinarians, dentists, attorneys, etc., are not included.)

The SED survey is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.