A TOTAL OF 179 GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WERE CANDIDATES FOR EITHER A MASTER'S OR A DOCTORATE DEGREE IN THE AREAS OF FARM MANAGEMENT, RURAL SOCIOLOGY, EXTENSION EDUCATION, AND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION WERE STUDIED--(1) TO DETERMINE WHAT CONSTITUTES SUCCESS IN GRADUATE CANDIDACY BASED ON THE OPINION OF A PANEL OF PROFESSORS, (2) TO DESCRIBE THE STUDENTS IN CERTAIN FIELDS ACCORDING TO SUCCESS FACTORS, (3) TO DETERMINE WHICH SELECTED FACTORS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SUCCESS IN RELATED SOCIAL SCIENCE FIELDS, AND (4) TO ANALYZE SUCCESS IN GRADUATE CANDIDACY IN RELATION TO GRADUATE GRADE-POINT AVERAGE. CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING SUCCESS IN GRADUATE CANDIDACY WERE DERIVED FROM QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES OF A SELECTED PANEL OF PROFESSORS, WEIGHTED SCORES WERE DETERMINED FOR EACH CRITERION, AND ADVISORS RATED THEIR RESPECTIVE STUDENTS. CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS WERE TESTED FOR SIGNIFICANCE AT THE 1 AND 5 PERCENT LEVELS FOR EACH FACTOR, SUCCESS SCORE, AND GRADE-POINT AVERAGE. SOME OF THE SELECTED CRITERIA WITH THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE, EXPRESSED IN WEIGHTS, WERE--(1) THE ABILITY TO THINK CRITICALLY AND ANALYTICALLY, 10, (2) KNOWLEDGEABILITY, 3.6, (3) CREATIVITY, 3.3, AND (4) ABILITY TO DO RESEARCH, 3.3. THE GRADUATE GRADE-POINT AVERAGE AND SUCCESS SCORE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED AT THE 1 PERCENT LEVEL. THIS PH.D. DISSERTATION, SUBMITTED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY IS AVAILABLE AS 67-1406 FOR $3.00 ON MICROFILM AND FOR $5.60 AS XEROXED COPY FROM UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS, INC., 300 NORTH ZEEB ROAD, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48106. (WB)