Bain, SteveFedynich, LaVonneKnight, Melody2019-09-252019-09-252011-02-282011-011941-336Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/176507This study was based on a survey of graduate students in the Educational Leadership & Counseling Department at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The study first determined to poll only those students who had completed at least nine semester hours of graduate work and who had maintained a 3.25 grade point average or higher. Ultimately, the study sought to identify the factors that play an important role in the overall success of the graduate students. The survey focused on the students of two professors totaling 108 (N=108) with the number responding (Nr) totaling 70. The survey was divided into two parts: participant profile and personal factors. Using the data obtained, the factors were scored by percentage of responses and categorized into primary (>90%), secondary (>80-89%), and tertiary factors (<79%). The implications of this study can be useful in determining the quality of the graduate program, strategies which can be developed to create and maintain a community of connectedness for students, the role of professors in the overall success of their students, and initiatives to halt attrition and sustain graduate student success.engWith permission of the license/copyright holderstudent ethicssuccesseducationethics educationCommunity ethicsSocial ethicsSexual orientation/genderEducation and ethicsArticle