Campus
grad programs unpopular with students
Photo
courtesy of the Career Development Center
By
Mari Shinkai
On-line Forty-Niner
Although
the median annual salary for degree levels
is obvious and significant, many Cal State
Long Beach students decide not to go into
graduate programs.
According
to the bachelor's and master's degree program,
the difference between the mean annual income
for people over the age of 18 with master's
degree versus bachelor's degree is almost
$8,000.
"Indeed,
the number of graduate students is not growing
at CSULB. This is a serious problem and
is causing us concern," said Mihir
K. Das, associate dean for graduate study
in engineering.
Overall
graduate student enrollment is down compared
to past few years and graduate students
represent approximately 10 percent of total
CSULB enrollment, said Simon Kim, graduate
advisor of educational psychology.
Praveen
Soni, chairman of Graduate Council, said
he believes that many people are not aware
that a master's degree will give them better
opportunities for a career and jobs. Many
students who have bachelor's degree do not
come back for graduate programs even though
they want to come back, Soni said.
"Students
want to take break after the long years
of undergraduate program," he said.
Marquita
Grenot-Scheyer, associate dean for graduate
study in education, and Das pointed out
that recent economic crisis affects students
in large.
"Certainly,
the impact of budget cuts impacts all of
our students. However, I do not foresee
a time when the graduate degree will not
be needed," Grenot-Scheyer said.
"Engineering
students want to make some decent money
and not continue the struggle with about
50 percent less money if they are lucky
enough to get a fellowship or grant,"
Das explained.
CSULB
students already have a difficult time paying
tuition because most graduate students are
paying for tuition themselves and many of
them are out-of-state, Kyung-Ran Chang,
alumni of art major in 2003, said.
"When
I finally realize that I need a master's
degree for my career, I'll come back for
graduate program, but I believe it is more
important for me to work in the actual field
in which I've studied so hard for a bachelor's
degree," Amy said.
Traditionally,
there are two reasons for attending graduate
school. One reason is that certain careers
require specialized training. Another is
to specialize in a particular discipline
or to do research or advanced study in a
field that is of great importance to each
student.
The
graduate study path can be expensive and
the workload may be heavy.
However,
director of the Career Development Center,
Edward Morton, emphasized that a graduate
degree is absolutely necessary for job market.
"The
statistic is quite clear. As our society
gets more and more technologically advanced,
increasingly, graduate degree is required
more than it used to be," Morton said.
Das
also said that a graduate degree always
helps a student in his or her chosen career
path, "be it engineering or any other
field."
"I
am pretty certain if there is an opportunity
for promotion, a person with a graduate
degree would win," Das said.
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