Educating students by supporting their long-term degree programs and offering short-term training to farmers, fishers, herders, and even policy makers are central objectives for the Feed the Future Innovation Labs for Collaborative Research. Thousands of students have received degrees since the CRSP programs started in the late 1970s. As graduates, they have made important contributions to U.S. and developing country agriculture, proving the theory of change that a better educated community of agricultural scientists is a necessary step in achieving better development outcomes. Graduates of higher education are more aware of and better able to use new technologies as well as to develop new ideas to solve development problems. By matching USAID funding with university and host country contributions, the Innovation Labs fro Collaborative Research and earlier CRSP training programs are a cost-effective way to offer structured training programs to both U.S. and developing country students and to achieve results that benefit everyone.

From 1978 to 2011, at least 3,820 degrees were awarded to CRSP participants, the large majority in post-graduate programs. Representing over 70 countries, about 40-50 percent of these students have come from Sub-Saharan Africa, with significant numbers also coming from Bolivia, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, and China. Their degrees have been granted in dozens of scientific fields, from agronomy, entomology, food science, to agricultural economics and other social sciences.  The sex breakdown in recent years is moving towards an equal number of men and women when compared to a higher predominance of men in earlier years (see graphs below).