The Group of Eight will survey 20 000 of its PhD graduates to discover what their degrees delivered three, eight and fifteen years after completing their doctorates.

The survey will provide comparisons with the US experience, where the Council of Graduate Schools is conducting a similar study. The Go8 is working with ANU’s Social Research Centre to ask graduates about employment outcomes, work transitions and career benefits delivered by their doctorates.

This is astute stuff, extending the government’s focus on employment outcomes for undergraduate degrees to a market where the Go8 dominate, producing half the country’s PhDs. Good results will demonstrate the Eight’s appeal to funding agencies, industry and prospective students alike.