There is a strong link between U.S. graduate education, the production of knowledge, and economic and social prosperity according to the Council on Graduate Schools’ Advisory Committee on Graduate Education and the Public Good.

In their report, Graduation and the Public Good," the committee focuses in on how a world-class graduate education system has benefited this nation and the world.

The National Academies’ landmark 2005 report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," recommended increasing the number of U.S. citizens pursuing graduate study in areas of national need by funding 5,000 new graduate fellowships each year. The America COMPETES Act, signed into law in August 2007, included many of the report’s recommendations in support of graduate study at the master’s and doctoral levels.

Although it is perceived that people who receive PhDs pursue academic careers, "the reality is that in 2000, over 70 percent of doctoral degree holders worked outside of academia," according to the report. A host of fields and professions-ranging from health and legal services to manufacturing and educational services outside of colleges and universities-demand highly educated people to fill the positions necessary to keep the economy moving forward.

Contributions of a Highly Educated Population

Having such a highly educated population has allowed the United States to reap the benefits of "increased tax revenues, greater productivity, increased workforce flexibility, decreased reliance on government financial assistance, and improved ability to adapt to and use technology-critically important in the ever changing knowledge economy," according to the report.

Graduate degrees not only benefit individuals, but also the communities where they work. Some of the societal benefits described in the report include:

• Revenue-Because higher taxes are associated with higher incomes, a highly educated population will increase tax revenue at all levels of the government.
• Health-In terms of public health, those individuals with graduate degrees often use their knowledge to improve health care. Those with advanced degrees serve the nation in public service, create new knowledge, train the next generation of scientists, and contribute to the advancement of health and science in both public and private positions.

  As costs have risen, health care has become an increasingly important issue. Only 67.3 percent of the U.S. population over 25 without a high school diploma says their health is good, very good, or excellent-compared with 92.5 percent of those with advanced degrees.

• Employment- Nationally, employment rates are higher for adults with higher levels of education. In the civilian labor force, of those ages 25-64, 84.5 percent of individuals with a master’s degree were employed, and 90.2 percent of those with a doctoral degree were employed. That compares with 82.7 percent of individuals with a bachelor’s degree, 72.8 percent of those who completed high school, and 58.1 percent of those without a high school diploma.
• Civic Responsibility/Strengthening The Community - Parents with postsecondary degrees are more likely to educate their children about community, national, and world events. This interaction helps form the next generation of civic leaders. They are more likely than parents who did not complete college to involve their children in community activities, such as concerts, religious services, sporting events, or plays.

Many U.S. graduate schools offer programs that educate, train, and encourage students to become "citizen scholars." In these programs, students acquire scholarship and experience in real-world settings and provide services to the community. They often use this knowledge after graduation, joining the ranks of graduate degree holders who have made a difference in their communities.

• The Future Faculty- According to the National Academy of Sciences, graduate education is critical to fulfilling national goals in two discrete ways. First, the nation’s universities and colleges produce the teachers and researchers of tomorrow. Second, they provide students with advanced scientific and technological knowledge and the skills to innovate.

One of the most successful models of how graduate education can prepare future faculty to teach undergraduate students is the Council of Graduate Schools’ Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program. The PFF program, a collaborative project, provides graduate students interested in becoming future faculty with opportunities to observe and experience faculty responsibilities at a variety of academic institutions.

• Next Generation of Researchers- The U.S. system of combining graduate education with cutting-edge research is unique. It not only strengthens the country’s research enterprise, but also produces a group of highly educated individuals to assume leadership positions in academia, industry, and government. These individuals will address the pressing challenges we confront today by developing new technologies and industries, devising methods to combat disease and hunger, creating ways to reduce environmental pollution, and discovering new sources of energy-all directed toward improving our quality of life and maintaining U.S. competitiveness.
• Developing Entrepreneurs and Innovators/Creating Jobs- The creators of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, began the site as a graduate research project in computer science at Stanford University. The growing recognition of the benefits of entrepreneurship in graduate education, combined with its apparent neglect within the non-business graduate curriculum, led the Council of Graduate Schools to initiate a national discussion around entrepreneurship as part of graduate education. At many universities, graduate program research generates new products. Moreover, "entrepreneurship education" is a rapidly growing field of study on many campuses. These programs can play a role in successfully creating start-up companies and creating more jobs.
• Educating K-12- The United States must have a high-quality K-12 teaching workforce so that our children will be prepared for their future. Universities are responsible for producing future teachers and for producing the professoriate who will prepare teachers.

U.S. Dependent on Graduate Education

"The challenges facing the United States in the 21st century are complex and daunting," according to the report. By having a large number of people who have advanced knowledge, skills, and encompass the abilities to solve complex, tough problems, the U.S. will be able to meet the challenges in the present and future.

The knowledge economy depends on those talented, skilled, and highly trained workers with masters and doctoral-level degrees. By strengthening graduate education, we, according to the report, "enable our nation to play a vital leadership role in the evolving knowledge economy and to improve the quality of life worldwide.

Costs are High

Students and families trying to finance masters, doctoral, and professional school programs face extreme challenges. Total annual cost of attending graduate/professional schools full-time has grown 65 percent, and now averages nearly $28,900, according to a 2003 NASFAA Monograph.

"Paying for graduate/professional education is particularly difficult because many students have low incomes and because opportunities for grants are few," according to the monograph.

Students enrolled in law, medicine, and other programs have average annual incomes of less than $25,000. The largest federal grant program, Federal Pell Grants, focuses exclusively on undergraduates, and less than 20 percent of all graduate/professional students receive scholarships, fellowships, or assistantships.

Student loans provided the majority of assistance for graduate/professional programs, mainly for degree candidates who were enrolled full time. "For instance, while 84 percent of full-time law students received loans, only 38 percent of these students received grants or fellowships," according to the report. The average amount borrowed was more than twice as high as the average grant.

"More than half of all master’s degree candidates and more than 80 percent of those seeking professional degrees received at least one student loan to finance their education in 2003-2004," according to the report.

A vast majority of these loan recipients took out two or more loans at the same time. More than half the 2003-2004 degree recipients from master’s programs, and nearly 90 percent of those from professional schools, left their institutions with student loan debt.

Average total debt (student loans from undergraduate and graduate/professional education combined) was more than $100,000 for graduates from private college medical and other health-related programs, and was greater than $50,000 for new lawyers. Even graduates from MBA programs left their institutions owing more than $30,000.

Although the financial costs are great for graduate education, the nation still depends on these students to attend graduate and professional schools. Our economy and society are highly dependent on the training received by doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, and other professionals.

Unfortunately, due in part to low salaries and fears of high debt responsibilities, available data and anecdotal evidence suggest that the number of new graduate and professional school degree holders entering fields that traditionally pay low wages has declined sharply over the past decade.

"Income is an important variable for new degree recipients because when they enter the job market, they usually have lower incomes due to their general lack of experience and other factors; thus, their loan burdens could be very high," according to the NASFAA monograph.

Either loan rates will have to stay low and manageable for students to repay their debt, or financial assistance will need to be made available to graduate students in order to better finance them through school.

To obtain a copy of Graduate Education and The Public Good (2008), you may go to the Council of Graduate Schools' publication page.

By Michael Jones II
NASFAA Communications Intern

Posted 06/06/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.