With classes for the 2018-2019 academic year underway, addressed this year鈥檚 incoming cohort of graduate students on Aug. 13 as part of the two-day Graduate Orientation hosted by the and the Division of Student Affairs.听
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In her remarks, Carlson, who is dean of the Graduate 91视频, associate provost, vice president, and professor of psychology, emphasized Notre Dame鈥檚 commitment to fostering an environment of well-being for graduate students.听
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鈥淥ne of the themes I really wanted to communicate to new students this year is that听, and听you听matter,鈥� Carlson said. 鈥淲e are committed to helping students thrive 鈥� not just academically but holistically. I wanted to let students know of our commitment to their well-being from the first day of their graduate training.鈥�
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Carlson鈥檚 theme aligned with statistics about the incoming students, who overwhelmingly identified Notre Dame鈥檚 community as a factor that was either 鈥渧ery important鈥� or 鈥渕ost important鈥� to their decision to attend Notre Dame over other institutions. Other popular reasons for choosing Notre Dame included the school鈥檚 reputation and commitment to financial support.
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During her address to the students, Carlson also shared other statistics about the incoming class: out of 5,261 applicants, only 1,015 were admitted, yielding a selectivity rate of 19 percent, which is on par with Notre Dame鈥檚 undergraduate admissions rate. Of the matriculants, 42 percent听are women and 33 percent听are international. Students come from 56 different countries and from 43 of the 50 states. And the incoming class represents one of the highest yields of underrepresented minorities, too.
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Nyr茅e McDonald, associate dean of graduate enrollment management, shared Carlson鈥檚 enthusiasm about the incoming class: 鈥淭his year marked one of our largest applicant pools ever, and the quality of applications was consistently high. This is a talented group of incoming students and we鈥檝e been looking forward to embracing them in the Notre Dame family.鈥�
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The Graduate 91视频鈥檚 emphasis on building community perhaps accounts for its recent success conducting a large-scale federally funded study. The Graduate 91视频 is part of the Council of Graduate 91视频鈥檚 Ph.D. Career Pathways Project, which includes canvassing alumni to track the career paths of STEM and humanities Ph.D. alumni. Out of the 28 other institutions participating in the study, Notre Dame鈥檚 alumni yielded some of the highest survey response rates compared to the other institutions.听
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鈥淚 was thrilled to attend the CGS conference this summer and discover that Notre Dame had one of the highest alumni response rates,鈥� Carlson said.
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鈥淲e鈥檝e been putting forth so much effort to foster community, and these results suggest our alumni still feel connected to our community. I think that鈥檚 a testament to the positive and welcoming environment we鈥檙e creating here, where student research听matters听鈥� both now, while students are on campus, and beyond, when they go into the world and mobilize their passions and expertise to be a force for good.鈥�
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Originally published by at on Sept.听4.