The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ability of colleges and universities to hold in-person classes and conduct vital research. After closures in March 2020, and the transition to largely online studies to complete the academic year, U.S. educational institutions made difficult decisions regarding how to hold classes in the fall 2020 semester. To understand the pandemic’s effects on graduate science, engineering, and health (SEH) education, the 2020 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS) included a COVID Impact Module (referred to from here on as the module). The module included questions about the pandemic’s influence on institutional practices related to doctoral funding, time-to-degree completion, and postdoctoral appointees (postdocs) and nonfaculty researchers (NFRs). These questions provide valuable information about the institutional changes related to graduate students, postdocs, and NFRs.
