Doctoral Exit Survey (DES)

The Doctoral Exit Survey is administered to all graduating PhD students as a required component of degree processing and conferral. Graduates must complete the DES prior to submitting their dissertation electronically to the Graduate School. More detailed information and a link to the survey can be found on the doctoral degree completion page of the Graduate School website. 

Master's Exit Survey (MES)

The Master's Exit Survey is administered to graduating master's students as a required component of degree processing and conferral.*  Master's students who have been issued a degree warrant by the Graduate School also receive an email with MES survey instructions and a link to the survey.  Graduates must complete the MES prior to submitting their signed degree warrant to the Graduate School. More information and a link to the survey can be found on the masters degree completion page of the Graduate School website. 

Refer to the current version of the Master's Exit Survey Questionnaire for information.  A visualization of MES data can be viewed by those with a university NetID. To access the visualization, click the Master's Exit Survey Data Visualization.

*Students in the Library and Information Studies MA program, and the School of Business full-time, evening, professional, and executive MBA programs do not participate in the Master's Exit Survey and are exempted from the survey requirement.

Doctoral Student Experience Survey (DSES)

The Doctoral Student Experience Survey is administered to all PhD students at the preliminary examination stage as a required step to move on to dissertator status. The survey covers career aspirations, academic experiences, and academic challenges, among other topics. PhD students who have been issued a preliminary examination warrant by the Graduate School receive an email with DSES survey instructions and a link to the survey. Students are required to complete the DSES prior to submitting their signed degree warrant to the Graduate School. More information and a link to the survey can be found on the preliminary examination page of the Graduate School website.

Refer to the current version of the Doctoral Student Experience Survey Questionnaire for information. A visualization of DSES data can be viewed by those with a university NetID. To access the visualization, click the Doctoral Student Experience Survey Data Visualization. Programs can contact the Graduate School with any survey-related questions or requests by sending an email to exitsurveys@grad.wisc.edu.