Every student has a voice.
Make sure you're listening.

The Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium is a community of research-intensive universities collaborating on administering student surveys and sharing data for institutional self-improvement.

Featured publication: The Multi-Engagement Model: Understanding Diverse Pathways to Student Success at Research Universities (2025)

40+
partner universities in the U.S. and internationally

1.5M+
student responses
collected

40+
SERU conferences, symposia, and workshops

200+
research papers, reports, and book chapters

20+
years of surveying students at research universities

SERU is a member-run, not-for-profit, research consortium designed to reduce complexities and costs of collecting, managing, and reporting data, and to promote data-driven self-improvement.

It is based at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley working in partnership with Etio and member universities. Membership in the SERU Consortium is open to research-intensive universities (having R1 designation and equivalent international campuses) by invitation and for a multi-year term.

SERU member universities collaborate by:

Administering undergraduate and graduate SERU surveys (census, online, customized, longitudinal) of the research university experience
Sharing SERU benchmark data and best practices
Seeking paths for institutional self-improvement

SERU Family of Surveys

Undergraduate Survey

First launched in 2002, the Undergraduate SERU survey focuses on aspects of the undergraduate experience including: academic engagement, educational experiences, satisfaction, campus climate, major evaluation, academic and professional development, student wellbeing, and cost of attendance.

Graduate Survey

First launched in 2017, the gradSERU survey focuses on the post-baccalaureate experience and covers topics including: selection and admission, financial support, advising, teaching and research experience, program climate, career plans, student wellbeing, obstacles to completion, and overall satisfaction.