An Investigation of Factors Related to Graduate Student Success

Abstract

This thesis studies the factors that play a role in determining outcome variables related to MA or PHD degrees in Economics at the University of Calgary. Using a dataset constructed by digitizing the application folders of students who applied between 2006 and 2016, we investigate the relationships between the background/academic characteristics of applicants, and their likelihood of acceptance in the MA or PHD programs as well as their performance upon enrollment. Our main findings include that undergraduate GPA, ranking of the undergraduate university, the time since the student last attended an academic institution, whether the student attended a Canadian university, and whether the student previously attended UofC all affect the likelihood of acceptance. We find performance within the program to be related to gender, funding, undergraduate major, whether the student is enrolled in the course-based or thesis-based program, whether the student previously attended UofC, and the ranking of the undergraduate university.