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 What Graduate/Professional School is All About
The only similarity to undergraduate school is that you continue coursework. Differences include:
- Many more seminar type courses, especially at advanced level
- More papers, projects, presentations, fewer tests
- More research-oriented approaches
- Increased specialization of subject matter studies
- More independent work requiring self discipline
- Less short term feedback about how you are doing academically
- Increased pressure to maintain high grades, generally B or above is the expected minimum.
A master's degree is the next level above a bachelor's degree. It is more intensive study of a selected subject matter and requires 1-3 years of study, depending on the program. A terminal masters program does not lead into a doctoral (Ph.D.) program; a non-terminal masters will. A professional master's degree is designed so that the student can enter the job market without further education. Examples of professional degrees include the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Education (M. Ed.).
An academic masters is usually a Master of Arts or Master of Science followed by, "in biology" or "in art history," for example. There are three typical types of programs:
- Coursework & Thesis- a thesis is an independent research project which the student designs, carries out, writes and defends before a committee of graduate professors.
- Coursework & Exams-some programs give the student the option of not writing a thesis, electing to take comprehensive exams instead.
- Coursework & Internship-an internship is a supervised, experiential learning situation, usually on a part-time, voluntary basis. The student may spend one or two semesters working in a setting compatible with his/her area of study to develop skills and knowledge in that field.
A Ph.D. is the highest academic degree available and is heavily focused on research. Many people who seek Ph.D's want to teach and do research in higher education. A Ph.D. can take from 3-7 years. Usual requirements are:
- Preliminary coursework (some programs require a master's thesis)
- A comprehensive examination covering required coursework, which may be written, oral or both.
- A dissertation, which is an original, independent, research project. The student usually presents the proposed project to a faculty committee for approval and defends the completed project before the same committee. It differs from a thesis in that it must be original, more complex and must be judged to be a significant contribution to knowledge in the student's field.
- Requirements for applied programs such as counseling or clinical psychology, nursing or social work may involve some practical experience of a year's duration: a practicum, field work, internship, etc.
- Some professions may require a licensing procedure, i.e. bar exam or state license exam.
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