College students coming towards the end of their time in undergraduate often start searching for jobs and thinking about potential careers, but continuing their studies through a graduate program may be a worthwhile option.
After earning their bachelor’s degree, students can further their studies in a graduate program, either pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree.
Generally, a graduate program has students going deeper into their specific field, gaining more specialized knowledge as they work towards the completion of a dissertation, thesis, or other large-scale project.
Dr. Mary Farmer-Kaiser, a professor of history and dean of the graduate school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, spoke on a major change students undergo as they transition from undergraduate to graduate studies.
“The other thing that’s really awesome about graduate education is that you’re working with your faculty in a new way. And that can be intimidating for sure, but what’s happening when you’re in a graduate program is that you’re moving from being a student to being an expert in the field, and their colleague,” Farmer-Kaiser said.
Advanced degrees open up different career paths, such as working as a faculty member at a university. Farmer-Kaiser shared that advanced degrees increase the income earned over a lifetime significantly, as well as provide much stronger employment stability.
The National Center for Education Statistics found that among full-time workers between 25-34, those with a master’s degree or higher earned 21 percent more than those with a bachelor’s degree.
UL Lafayette is constantly building upon and adding to their catalog of graduate programs, and while Farmer-Kaiser encouraged students to apply to UL Lafayette’s graduate school, she also suggested applying to multiple different graduate schools.
Some factors that may influence which graduate schools are worth applying to include their tuition and fees, if they offer any sort of funding to help cover those, as well as the faculty at that school since graduate programs entail working closely with them.
Funding often comes in the form of assistantships and fellowships. Assistantships generally provide a monthly stipend, a tuition waiver and possibly a fee waiver.
In return, the graduate student works for the university, usually as a teaching assistant, research assistant or sometimes in one of the university’s administrative offices.
The work itself can range from teaching classes to working in a lab, and generally involves 20 hours of work each week.
A fellowship is usually the highest level of funding provided to graduate students. They offer a stipend that generally pays higher than an assistantship, as well as a tuition and fee waiver.
They may also include a year or two years of non-service support, where funding is provided but you don’t have to perform work for the university.
“So no teaching obligations, no research obligations, your job is to go to class, get your research and writing done, and move forward,” Farmer-Kaiser said.
Graduate school is an option not just for students who know that the career they want to go into requires an advanced degree, but also for those still figuring out what it is they want to do.
“If you’re not sure what pathways are available to you, but you know you love history, or creative writing, or nursing or so forth, a master’s program is a really great way to start,” Farmer-Kaiser said. “Your mind’s gonna be opened to not only new research in the field of study and so forth, but you’re also going to potentially find new doors to walk through.”
An advanced degree can also be pursued while working in a full-time, professional career.
Many graduate schools, including UL Lafayette, offer online programs, as well as programs with a hybrid model where students come in two days out of the week for in-person classes, and supplement that with online learning during the rest of the week.
Farmer-Kaiser, who was a first-generation college student, emphasized that any student can find their place in graduate school, but what it takes most of all to be successful in graduate school is resilience.
“Grad school involves failure. When we do research, we’re oftentimes figuring out what doesn’t work and what’s missing and what we don’t know. And so your ability to handle that is critical to being successful in grad school. Brilliance helps, no question, but it’s resilience that’s going to finish a graduate degree,” Farmer-Kaiser said.
For those considering graduate school, the time to start building your application is during your undergraduate studies. Putting together that application can be a complicated process, but in April, UL Lafayette will be hosting a series of Zoom sessions covering that process, including do’s and don’ts, the GRE, letters of reference, writing a statement of purpose and getting funding for graduate school.
These sessions will be held on Tuesdays at noon from April 2-23. More information and registration can be found at louisiana.edu/graduateschool.