High attrition rates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines are an ongoing problem. Graduate student attrition, in particular, is understudied. Most past studies have focused on students’ attributes, undergraduate preparation, and mentoring relationships. Emerging results from the implementation of the American Physical Society Bridge Program (APSBP) suggest that departmental support structures could lead to increased retention. However, there are no validated instruments to measure students’ experience of the departmental support structures. This paper describes the development and psychometric evaluation of the aspects of student experience scale (ASES). Items were developed based on prior literature and the APSBP recommendations, revised based on APSBP feedback, and subjected to psychometric evaluation. Principal components analysis of data from 397 students at 19 physics graduate programs (2 M.S. and 17 Ph.D.) across the U.S. resulted in four distinct factors: (a) mentoring and research experience, (b) professional development, (c) social and academic integration, and (d) financial support. ASES meets the standard criteria for divergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency. Results of students’ ASES response ratings are discussed, along with comparisons between students enrolled at APSBP and non-APSBP affiliated graduate programs. On average, we find that physics graduate students experience adequate mentoring and financial support; however, they report experiencing limited social and academic integration and a lack of professional development. We also find that students in APSBP affiliated programs report better experiences on all four factors than students in non-APSBP affiliated programs, with higher differences in social and academic integration and financial support. This study is a starting point for the refinement process of this instrument.

中文翻译：

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物理研究生的部门支持结构：自我报告工具的开发和心理测评

科学，技术，工程和数学学科的高流失率是一个持续存在的问题。尤其是研究生的减员。过去的大多数研究都集中在学生的特质，本科准备和指导关系上。实施美国物理学会桥梁计划（APSBP）的最新结果表明，部门的支持结构可能导致保留率提高。但是，没有经过验证的工具可以衡量学生对部门支持结构的体验。本文描述了学生体验量表（ASES）方面的发展和心理测评。这些项目是根据先前的文献和APSBP的建议制定的，并根据APSBP的反馈进行了修订，并进行了心理评估。对来自美国19个物理研究生课程（2个硕士和17个博士学位）的397名学生的数据进行主成分分析，得出四个不同的因素：（a）指导和研究经验，（b）专业发展，（c）社会和学术整合，以及（d）财务支持。ASES满足差异性有效性，判别性有效性和内部一致性的标准标准。讨论了学生对ASES的反应评分结果，并比较了参加APSBP与非APSBP附属研究生课程的学生之间的比较。平均而言，我们发现物理研究生获得了足够的指导和财务支持；然而，他们报告说他们的社会和学术融合有限，缺乏专业发展。我们还发现，与非APSBP附属计划的学生相比，APSBP附属计划的学生在所有四个因素方面的报告都更好，社会和学术融合以及财务支持方面的差异更大。这项研究是完善该仪器的起点。