2008 Woodie Awards
RSSAs competition grows, undergrads rush to get master's
By Liz Callahan
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: News
College is said to be the best four years of a person's life.
Or is it six years, or even nine years?
As the number of students attending graduate school rises, the need to extend education past the four-year bachelor's degree is becoming increasingly evident.
"The master's degree, or any graduate degree, today is sort of yesterday's bachelor's degree," said J. Gary Lutz, interim dean of the College of Education. "Thirty, 40, 50 years ago it was a very special thing to have a college degree, and that put you really at the top of the competitive heap."
Nationally, the number of students pursuing master's degrees has doubled since 1980 and grown 150 percent since 1970, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
The number of graduate students at Lehigh has remained at about 2,000 students for the past 30 years, according to the office of institutional research. But the number of Lehigh students going directly to graduate school has risen.
In 1995, 19 percent of the graduating class pursued higher education directly after graduation, which grew to 36 percent in 2005. In 2006 the number dropped to 26 percent, but the trend is upward, according to the career services placement survey.
Lutz said higher enrollment in master's degree programs indicates that although an undergraduate degree is important, it is commonplace.
"When people say 'I went to college,' that's not quite as special a label as it once was," Lutz said. "Now, to be at the top of the competitive heap, you really need a graduate degree."
Although the overall number of graduate students at Lehigh is constant, certain programs are seeing growth.
Geri Kneller, graduate coordinator of the mechanical engineering department, said the department's graduate program has grown. This fall the department has 35 graduate students, last year it had 27 and the year before that, 23.
"The main reason the department is growing is the competitive nature of the industry," Kneller said. "Students are under pressure to pursue the higher degree. To have that edge you need a master's."
Or is it six years, or even nine years?
As the number of students attending graduate school rises, the need to extend education past the four-year bachelor's degree is becoming increasingly evident.
"The master's degree, or any graduate degree, today is sort of yesterday's bachelor's degree," said J. Gary Lutz, interim dean of the College of Education. "Thirty, 40, 50 years ago it was a very special thing to have a college degree, and that put you really at the top of the competitive heap."
Nationally, the number of students pursuing master's degrees has doubled since 1980 and grown 150 percent since 1970, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
The number of graduate students at Lehigh has remained at about 2,000 students for the past 30 years, according to the office of institutional research. But the number of Lehigh students going directly to graduate school has risen.
In 1995, 19 percent of the graduating class pursued higher education directly after graduation, which grew to 36 percent in 2005. In 2006 the number dropped to 26 percent, but the trend is upward, according to the career services placement survey.
Lutz said higher enrollment in master's degree programs indicates that although an undergraduate degree is important, it is commonplace.
"When people say 'I went to college,' that's not quite as special a label as it once was," Lutz said. "Now, to be at the top of the competitive heap, you really need a graduate degree."
Although the overall number of graduate students at Lehigh is constant, certain programs are seeing growth.
Geri Kneller, graduate coordinator of the mechanical engineering department, said the department's graduate program has grown. This fall the department has 35 graduate students, last year it had 27 and the year before that, 23.
"The main reason the department is growing is the competitive nature of the industry," Kneller said. "Students are under pressure to pursue the higher degree. To have that edge you need a master's."
