Graduate school is for people who thrive being in a varied and exciting environment where they feel they are at the center of something very important. The level of creativity and innovation is exhilarating. Individuals gain confidence and self-realization. Leadership skills are developed. A great deal of satisfaction can come to one who has developed expertise in a field and attained the highest level of competence. Virtually unlimited opportunities exist in the emerging employment landscape.

Graduate programs prepare the scientists and engineers needed by industry, government, and universities to conduct the nation’s research and development. Additionally, graduate schools educate the scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts who preserve and enlarge our understanding of the history and scope of human thought and the human condition, and transmit that knowledge to succeeding generations.

While undergraduate studies introduce you to a wide variety of subjects, graduate school involves a specialized knowledge and concentrated study in one area. There are two levels of graduate degrees, master’s and doctoral. The kinds of graduate doctoral degrees are professional degrees and research degrees. A master’s degree can take either one or two years of study. Graduate professional education comprises well-defined postbaccalaureate programs in such areas as law, medicine, and dentistry, providing the rigorous training necessary for the practice of those professions. The McNair Scholars Program focuses on research degrees. The research doctoral degree usually involves course work and a major research project. Doctoral study involves classes, seminars, examinations, and independent research. The Ph.D. signifies that the recipient has acquired the capacity to make independent contributions to knowledge through original research and scholarship.

Benefits of Attending Graduate School

• Varied and exciting environment
• Being in center of something important
• Exhilarating level of creativity and innovation
• Gain confidence and self-realization
• Develop leadership skills
• Attain higher level of competence