What is Graduate School?
Graduate school is a level of higher education that students pursue after earning a bachelor's degree. Graduate school offers advanced academic or professional degrees, which can include master's, doctoral, and other degree types.
How are Graduate Student Expectations Different from Undergraduate Expectations?
While expectations for undergraduates are often high, expectations for Graduate students move beyond a general grasp of a given topic and can include increased critical engagement, real-world use cases, and advanced analytical skills.
Graduate students are expected to:
- Engage critically with complex concepts. Graduate students engage critically with complex concepts by analyzing, questioning, and evaluating existing knowledge and data, rather than simply accepting information as presented. Grad students achieve this by participating in in-depth seminar discussions, conducting exhaustive literature reviews, designing original research experiments, and articulating evidence-based arguments in their thesis or dissertation.
- Apply theoretical frameworks to real-world problems. Graduate students get to translate their advanced, specialized knowledge into practical, innovative solutions for complex real-world challenges through rigorous research and application-based projects.
- Demonstrate advanced analytical skills. Graduate students demonstrate their advanced analytical skills by analyzing data, identifying complex patterns, and troubleshooting research challenges to form original, evidence-based conclusions, which they then communicate through writing, presentations, and lectures.
How are Graduate Courses Different from Undergraduate Courses?
Between undergraduate and graduate education, teaching styles and learning environments differ greatly. In undergraduate courses, students often experience a lecture-based format where professors present material and guide discussions. Graduate-level classes take the student experience to a totally different level. Graduate classes foster a collaborative, exciting, and often groundbreaking classroom environment, where students are part of cutting-edge research and each and every class can break new ground.
- Graduate professors encourage dialogue and debate, drawing on students' experiences and insights. This shift, from passive to active learning, promotes a more interactive and engaging educational experience, allowing graduate students to take ownership of their learning and start changing their field from the first day of class all the way to and beyond graduation.
- Classes and coursework in graduate school let graduate students focus on their own research and promote independent, self-guided study. Think of it this way: graduate coursework is a structured framework that helps students explore, refine, and execute on their unique ideas and research interests.
- In many programs, graduate students are required to conduct original research and contribute new knowledge to their field. This focus on research not only enhances a student’s understanding of their discipline but also equips them with valuable skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and professional communication that they’ll need for the rest of their careers.
Ultimately, graduate school is a transformative educational journey that prepares students for the professional world and scholarly pursuits. Once you get a graduate degree, you’re ready to change the course of your life for the better.
What Types of Graduate Degrees Are There?
Graduate programs can generally be divided into research and applied degrees.
- Research degrees, like Master's programs or the Ph.D., emphasize research, critical thinking, and scholarly contributions, preparing graduates for careers in academia, research, or advanced professional roles. Research degrees are highly independent and often focus on research design and methodology, and culminate in independent research projects like dissertations (for Ph.D.) or theses (for Master’s) that present original ideas and research.
- Applied degrees, like our Master's of Social Work (M.S.W.) or our Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) in Play Therapy, emphasize practical and job-ready skills for a specific profession. Applied degrees are practice-oriented, meaning students focus on case studies, project-based learning, and learn tools specific to their industry. These degrees often culminate in capstone projects or internships that allow the student to demonstrate their skills in real-world applications.
What's the Difference Between a Master's and a Doctorate Degree?
A master's degree builds advanced knowledge and skills in a specific field, usually in one or two years of study. A doctorate trains you to create new knowledge in a specific field, typically taking three to seven years.
Master's Degrees
Master's students can pursue degrees such as a Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (M.S.), or Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.). Many graduate schools offer applied master's degrees built around a specific profession, including the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Master of Accountancy (M.Accy.), Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), or Master of Education (M.Ed.).
- Many programs finish with a capstone project, exam, or thesis.
A master's degree is a strong fit if you want to deepen your expertise, change careers, or qualify for roles that require an advanced credential.
Doctoral Degrees
Doctoral programs, including the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), are more research-intensive.
- Students move from coursework into independent research, and the program culminates in a dissertation that contributes original knowledge to the field.
A doctorate is a strong fit if you want to conduct original research, teach at the university level, or lead at the highest level of your profession.
Is Grad School a Good Long-Term Investment?
Graduate school is a good long-term investment because it can help increase your earning potential and protect you from unemployment.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, graduate school can:
- Increase your weekly earnings. While the median usual weekly earnings of a bachelor’s degree are $1,543, a master’s degree increases those earnings to $1,840, and a doctoral degree to $2,278.
- Someone with a master’s degree earns over 19% more than someone with a bachelor’s degree. An employee with a doctoral degree makes even more, with an increase of over 47%.
- Protect against unemployment. The unemployment rate for an undergraduate degree was 2.5% in 2024. If you compare that to master’s degrees at 2.2% and doctoral degrees at 1.2% it’s easy to see how a graduate degree can help secure high-paying and dependable jobs.
When it comes to increased earning potential and continued employment, it’s easy to see that a graduate degree can be extremely important to your life.
Is Graduate School Right for You?
Graduate school is right for you if you want to:
- Increase your networking and collaboration toolset. When you’re in graduate school, you may get a chance to teach or attend conferences all over the world. These aren’t just experiences to check off a list, but important chances to build relationships with future business leaders and scholars. Not to mention the lifelong relationships you can make with your professors and your cohort.
- Sharpen your credibility and leadership skills. A graduate degree lets employers know that you aren’t playing around. It shows a high level of discipline, specialized expertise, and an intense commitment and determination. Any employer, whether they are in the academic or professional world, will immediately know that you will be a positive influence on their team and will see any project to its full potential.
- Gain a sense of mastery and fulfillment. This may not seem that important at this stage in your educational journey. But I’d argue that it’s possibly one of the most important things that graduate school can give students. Once you complete your final project and you walk across the stage, accepting your diploma, you’ll know beyond a shadow of a doubt just how far you’ve come.
Graduate school is more than the next step after your bachelor’s degree; it’s a transformative commitment to innovation, career acceleration, and to yourself. It doesn’t matter what graduate program you finally choose; the result will be the same: once you complete your graduate studies, you’ll be an invaluable asset to any team.
If you’re still on the fence or want more information, fill out our information request form, and we’ll get in touch.
Page updated 09/29/2026
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