Council of Graduate Schools

What Council of Graduate Schools does

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is a private, Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit membership association founded in 1961 and the only national organization in the United States dedicated solely to the advancement of graduate education and research. It serves approximately 460-500 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada, including R1 research universities, doctoral-granting institutions, and master's-focused colleges, alongside a Sustaining Membership Network of corporate and non-profit partners and a smaller base of International Members. CGS operates across four primary revenue streams: recurring institutional membership dues, event registration fees (Summer Workshop, New Deans Institute, Global Summit, Advocacy Day), publications and research reports, and grants/sponsorships from entities including NSF and HHMI. Its product portfolio centers on the annual Graduate Enrollment and Degrees survey (the only comprehensive source of first-time and total graduate enrollment data), policy toolkits (Cost of Graduate Education, AI-Ready Graduate School, Financial Preparedness After GRAD Plus), multi-stakeholder initiatives (CLEAR, Healthy Research Teams, National Name Exchange), the April 15 Resolution industry agreement, and convening events for graduate deans and administrators.

CGS's core "technology" is its content, convening, and advocacy platform rather than software: it produces proprietary research, disseminates best-practice toolkits, administers the GradSense student-facing website, and executes federal advocacy on Capitol Hill and with agencies including NSF, NIH, DOE, and the Department of Education. Its go-to-market is sales-led institutional membership, supplemented by event registration and self-serve digital content distribution through cgsnet.org. Strategic depth is anchored on multi-year grant-funded research collaborations (notably with ETS as flagship partner), cross-border convening via the Global Summit, and rapid-response policy toolkits addressing federal regulatory changes. The organization employs between 11 and 50 staff at its One Dupont Circle headquarters and operates with no parent company, subsidiaries, or venture backing.

Name

Council of Graduate Schools

Legal name

Council of Graduate Schools

Website

https://cgsnet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Council of Graduate Schools is a nonprofit membership association founded in 1961 that serves approximately 460-500 U.S. and Canadian universities through graduate education advocacy, proprietary enrollment data, professional development events, and best-practice research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ)

Keywords

• Graduate education association
• Higher education membership
• Research advocacy services
• Graduate enrollment data
• Professional development events

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Membership Dues: CGS generates revenue primarily through membership dues from approximately 500 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada engaged in graduate education. Membership categories include Institutional Members, Sustaining Membership Network members, and International Members, each with distinct benefit packages including data analysis, best practice expertise, discounts on meetings and publications, and networking opportunities.
2. Event Registration Fees: CGS hosts major annual events including the Summer Workshop, New Deans Institute, and Global Summit on Graduate Education. Registration fees include member and non-member rates for events like the Summer Workshop (Early-Bird: $975 member, $1,470 non-member for workshop only; $1,125 member, $1,715 non-member for workshop plus institute). Fees include registration, breakfasts, lunches, receptions, and breaks.
3. Publications and Resources: CGS publishes research reports, data surveys, and best practice resources available to members and for purchase. Publications include the annual Graduate Enrollment and Degrees report, microcredentials report, and various policy agendas. Online publications are licensed to authorized users at member institutions.
4. Advocacy Ambassadors Network and Partnerships: CGS maintains a Sustaining Membership Network that connects member universities with industry and non-profit leaders through meaningful partnerships. This network provides opportunities for corporate engagement and sponsorship with the graduate education community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is a nonprofit membership association that serves U.S., Canadian, and international universities and colleges awarding graduate degrees. It provides institutional membership, federal advocacy, data and research products (notably the annual Graduate Enrollment and Degrees survey), professional development programs for graduate deans, and convening events such as the CGS Annual Meeting and New Deans Institute.

Product overview

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is a membership organization, not a traditional technology product company. It offers a portfolio of membership-based programs, research services, and professional development offerings for graduate education institutions. The core offerings include: membership programs (Institutional, Sustaining, International), annual data surveys (Graduate Enrollment and Degrees), advocacy resources (Washington Insights, Federal Policy Agenda), professional development events (Summer Workshop, Global Summit), and specialized initiatives (Healthy Research Teams & Labs, CLEAR, National Name Exchange, GradSense). These products are primarily information services, publications, and event programs rather than software products with technical integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Institutional Membership Annual institutional membership tiered by institution type and graduate enrollment, providing access to CGS research, policy advocacy, publications, and member-rate pricing on events. Target buyer is the university graduate school or provost's office.
• Sustaining Membership Network Higher-tier partnership program for corporations, foundations, and government agencies engaged in graduate education and workforce issues, providing engagement opportunities with graduate deans and policy visibility.
• CGS Annual Meeting Annual multi-day conference for graduate deans, provosts, and higher education leaders featuring policy briefings, professional development sessions, and networking. Held in December.
• New Deans Institute Multi-day professional development institute for newly appointed graduate deans covering leadership, management, and policy issues in graduate education.
• Graduate Enrollment and Degrees (GRED) Survey Proprietary annual survey collecting graduate application, enrollment, and degree data from U.S. member institutions, producing reports cited by federal agencies, media, and institutional researchers.
• CGS Publications and Reports Print and digital publications including the Journal of Graduate Education (GRAD), policy briefs, and research reports addressing graduate admissions, completion, diversity, and workforce preparation.
• Federal Advocacy and Policy Services

Quantifiable outcome

• CGS survey on graduate enrollment reaches 346 U.S. member institutions with 34% response rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, secondary, key and core.

• ETS (Educational Testing Service)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerETS provides funding support for CGS research initiatives including the annual Graduate Enrollment and Degrees survey and the Microcredentials report project. The partnership involves co-branded award (ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Graduate Education), joint webinars, and co-sponsored events including the Global Summit on Graduate Education. ETS media contacts are Stephanie Winters (609-359-5789).
• Credential As You GosecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGS co-hosted a webinar on Making the Case for Incremental Credentialing in Graduate Education with Credential As You Go. Both organizations work on microcredentials research and best practice development. CAYG Co-Leads include Holly Zanville and Nan Travers.
• University of California, BerkeleykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC Berkeley research (Innovations in Graduate Education - Identity, Structure, and Belonging project) provided foundational research for CGS's CLEAR initiative. The research showed correlation between student success and program environments where expectations and rules are clear and consistently applied.
• University of TorontokeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Toronto developed the original Healthy Research Teams & Labs framework that CGS adopted and expanded nationally. CGS collaborates with input from a CGS advisory committee to develop recommendations and promising practices for graduate deans and research teams.
• Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerACGR co-hosted the 2023 Global Summit on Graduate Education with CGS at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Organizations collaborate on international graduate education initiatives and share best practices across borders.
• 10 CLEAR Awardee UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGS partnered with 10 universities as grant awardees for the CLEAR project to improve PhD student outcomes: City University of New York, Colorado State University, Stony Brook University, Texas A&M University, University of Arizona, University of Denver, University of Mississippi, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Nevada-Reno, and University of New Hampshire. Awardees will collect data on how structure in doctoral programs impacts student outcomes.
• University of MarylandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Maryland won the 2024 ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Graduate Education for their Graduate Pathways Faculty Fellows program. CGS showcases their faculty learning community model as a best practice for other institutions.
• Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGS promotes CIMER's mentoring training and curricula as part of its curated mentoring resources. CIMER's mission is to improve research mentoring relationships through evidence-based and culturally-responsive interventions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR): ACGR is the Australian national voice for graduate research and co-hosted the Global Summit with CGS. It is a regional peer with overlapping advocacy and best-practice mandates, providing a model for how CGS could expand in international markets.
• NAFSA: Association of International Educators: NAFSA is a membership association for international education professionals that addresses internationalization in higher education, overlapping with CGS on international student and scholar policy. Its advocacy and convening model parallels CGS.

Direct peers

• Council of Independent Colleges (CIC): CIC represents private, nonprofit colleges and universities and offers similar convening, advocacy, and data services. Its mission and member engagement model are closely comparable to CGS's institutional membership approach.
• American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U): AAC&U is a membership association of liberal education institutions that runs advocacy, conferences, and research similar to CGS. While broader in scope, it competes for institutional membership and attention from the same deans and provosts.
• American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU): AASCU is a DC-based membership association for state colleges and universities engaged in federal policy advocacy, leadership development, and data. It mirrors CGS's membership-association model with substantial overlap in member institutions.
• International Association of Universities (IAU): IAU is a UNESCO-affiliated association of universities worldwide focused on internationalization and graduate education. It parallels CGS internationally through the Global Summit and international membership categories, addressing the same policy topics on a global stage.
• American Council on Education (ACE): ACE is the major US higher education coordinating association, engaging presidents and chancellors on policy, advocacy, and leadership. Like CGS, ACE operates as a DC-based membership association providing policy advocacy, research, and convening for member institutions, and overlaps with CGS on federal funding and accreditation issues.
• Association of American Universities (AAU): AAU is an association of leading US and Canadian research universities that conducts advocacy on federal research funding and graduate education policy. Many AAU institutions are CGS members, and AAU's research-policy focus on graduate education directly overlaps with CGS's mission.
• Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU): APLU represents public research universities and is deeply involved in federal advocacy on research funding and graduate education. Its membership overlaps substantially with CGS and it competes for advocacy mindshare on Capitol Hill.

Others

• Institute of International Education (IIE): IIE is a nonprofit that administers fellowship and exchange programs and publishes the Open Doors report on international students. It is thematically adjacent to CGS for international graduate student policy, sharing many of the same institutional partners and data interests.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CGSGradEd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Council of Graduate Schools