Doctorates (SED)
Note: The Survey of Earned Doctorates is for PhD candidates only. It is optional and not required for graduation.
About the Survey of Earned Doctorates
The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is an ongoing survey sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the US Department of Agriculture and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Completion of the survey is entirely voluntary and is not required to receive a doctorate from Clemson University.
The survey helps these and many other agencies and entities assess the availability of highly educated personnel. The survey gathers data from all research doctorate graduates each year on their educational history, sources of support and post-graduation plans. The completed survey responses become part of the Doctorate Records File (DRF), a nearly complete data bank on doctorate recipients from 1920 to the present and the major source of doctoral data at the national level. The profiles of doctorate recipients that emerge from these data assist policymakers at the federal, state, local and university levels.
The information provided on the survey questionnaire remains confidential and is safeguarded in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. The survey data are reported only in aggregate form or in a manner that does not identify information about any individual.
Learn More and Complete the SED
To learn more about the SED, visit the SED home page.
To complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates, go to the SED completion page, and follow the instructions. Because completion of this survey is entirely optional, you do not need to notify the Graduate School that you have completed it.
