Thank you for your interest in the 2023 National Survey of College Graduates. Unfortunately, the 2023 round of this survey has now ended.
The National Survey of College Graduates is the most important source of information on the education and career paths of the nation's college-educated population. It has been conducted since 1973 by the National Science Foundation, an independent agency of the U.S. government. The U.S. Census Bureau serves as the data collection contractor for the NSCG on behalf of NSF.
The survey data provides important information about the education and career paths of the nation's college graduates. The data provides characteristics of the college-educated people in the workforce such as the sector they work in, whether they are working in their degree field, the type of occupations they hold, their salary, and their demographic composition. These data are needed to make informed decisions about how to best utilize the limited resources in the areas of research, education, and job training. The results of the survey are vital and are used by:
You were randomly chosen to represent hundreds of other college-graduates in the same field. Once a person has been selected in the sample, we cannot substitute another person because it would harm the quality of the sample data we collect. If we do not obtain responses from the people selected, the study could produce biased data.
The NSCG is an important national survey. It enables us to understand and quantify the way people use their education as they age. It helps us study how their career choices and opportunities change, both over time and during varying economic conditions. The results of this study are used by researchers, policy makers, students who are contemplating their education and career choices, and individuals who are considering a career change.
The NSCG includes people in every employment situation. Learning that you've retired - whether you've retired but have since returned to work or you've stopped working entirely - is important information that makes trend data more complete. The National Science Foundation is especially interested in how the career paths of retirees may change over time and in the current economy - an economy in which retirees may need to return to work, even in fields that are very different from the fields of their degrees. The only way to track such career decisions and trends is to include all respondents in the survey, even those retired individuals who intend to stay retired.
This survey collects information from college graduates in all disciplines and at every stage of life. The National Science Foundation, an agency of the federal government, is mandated by Congress to study the education of the American people. You were chosen for this study as part of a scientifically selected sample of people who have earned at least a bachelor's degree. Because you were specifically selected, we cannot substitute another college graduate for you, so the success of this survey rests upon your participation. Please be assured that the information you provide is very valuable for this survey regardless of your employment or educational background.
Our aim is to include persons holding a bachelor's degree or higher. If you do not have at least a bachelor's degree, we only need to ask you a few questions to verify that we have contacted the correct individual.
Your response is voluntary. Please keep in mind that you do not have to answer all of the questions.
Individuals are randomly chosen to represent hundreds of others in the same field. Once a person has been selected for the sample, we cannot substitute another person because it would harm the quality of the sample data we collect. If we don't obtain responses from the people selected, the study could produce biased results.
Yes, your personal information and responses to the survey are confidential. All information you provide will be reported in summary form only, so that people can't identify your individual answers. The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify you. Federal law protects your privacy and keeps your answers confidential (Title 13, United States Code, Section 9). Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.
The National Science Foundation is authorized by Congress to collect this information under the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. That Act states, "The National Science Foundation is authorized to provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on scientific and engineering resources and to provide a source of information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal government." The Census Bureau is conducting this survey under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Section 8.
Although individual times may vary, the average time to complete the survey online is about 20 minutes.
Information about the data collected in the NSCG can be found at the National Science Foundation (NSF) website: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygrads/.
In addition, NSF publishes various reports on the college-educated work force related to policy and research issues (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/). Prior results from the NSCG are also available as part of the Scientist and Engineers Statistical Database System (SESTAT), which you can access at http://sestat.nsf.gov.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the sponsor. The NSF is an independent agency of the U.S. Government, established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. Their mission is to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. The NSF is located in Alexandria, Virginia.
That’s correct, the Census Bureau conducts a census of people every 10 years. However, we also conduct monthly, quarterly, and yearly surveys that collect information on the labor force, retail and wholesale trade, household expenses, household income, and education. Right now, the Census Bureau is collecting data regarding your education and career paths for the National Science Foundation.
The survey is conducted over a period of several months. In order to standardize the survey responses, the week of February 1st was selected so that everyone who participates will answer the questions for the same time period. It has no other special significance.
It is important that the same people are interviewed over time to allow data users to understand what choices college graduates make with their careers and education. Even if your situation hasn’t changed in the last few years, that information is just as valuable for data users to know. Since the NSCG seeks to develop aggregate and compiled data, your responses will allow analysts and policy makers to better see trends over the long run.
We may be contacting you by phone, mail, or email to complete the survey.
We try to keep up with the changes of address, phone number, and email of the persons in our sample. We use several means of obtaining contact information, such as directory assistance, and the U.S. Postal Service.
Logging in:
You may have received different Login IDs and passwords via mail or email. Any of the Login IDs and passwords we have provided you will work to complete our survey. Please use only ONE of these to log on if completing the survey in different sessions. Using a different Login ID and password in different sessions will cause you to start the survey over.
1) Enter the 8 digit Login ID.
2) Enter the 8 digit alphanumeric password.
*Use capital letters when shown in password provided.
Our secure servers use Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer (HTTPS) to ensure the encrypted transmission of data between your browser and the U.S. Census Bureau. This means that instead of sending readable text over the Internet, both your browser and our servers encode (scramble) all text using a security key. That way, personal data sent to your browser and data you send back are extremely difficult to decode in the unlikely event of interception by an unauthorized party. As a result of this, your browser must be capable of using the required encryption protocol and strength in order to connect to our servers. If you cannot connect to our secure servers, please upgrade to a newer browser.
Our secure servers use a digital certificate (digital ID) issued by a trusted, third party Certificate Authority (CA) as proof of identity. The only way to be sure of a web site's authenticity is to view their digital ID. In this way, you can be assured that you are not being "spoofed" or tricked by an imposter. The digital ID will contain information such as the name of the organization that owns the web site, the site's registered internet name/address, and the name of the Certification Authority under which the digital ID was issued. The method for viewing a web site's Digital Certificate/ID varies depending on the web browser. Please see your browser's "Help" information for instructions on how to verify a web site's identity.
The National Science Foundation and the Census Bureau will use the information you provide for statistical purposes only. The information collected in this survey is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. We will protect the confidentiality of the information in accordance with Title 13, Section 9 of the United States Code. In addition, per the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.