by Michelle Nealy
Apr 25, 2008, 23:17
Black students largest minority graduate students
in 2006
Access to graduate education is an invaluable
resource for this generation of Americans. For
the “public good” of the nation, the U.S. government
must allocate more in the way of financial support and
public policy to ensure that students have access to
and experience success in some form of graduate
studies, a new study reports.
Most scholars agree with Salem State College
President Patricia Meservey’s current assessment of
the American educational system and future job
market. “In the world that looms before us, a
bachelor’s degree alone will no longer suffice. More
jobs than ever will require both advanced degrees
and advanced credentials.”
“A strong link exists between U.S. graduate education,
the production of knowledge and economic and social
prosperity,” said Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., during
press briefing Thursday in Washington on the societal
benefits of graduate education.
Reading the opening lines of a report released by
Council of Graduate Schools, Capps said, “The
United States needs a cadre of high-skilled leaders
and experts in a variety of fields to address current
and future challenges.”
In a 20-page report titled “Graduate Education for the
Public Good” researchers at the Council of Graduate
Schools illuminated the obvious and obscure benefits
of a graduate education for the nation, as opposed to
a single individual.
In 2006, Black graduate students composed the
largest minority group, not counting non-U.S. citizens,
with 135,020 students, or roughly 12 percent of the fall
2005 graduate population. Hispanics were the
second largest group at 7 percent. Asians and
American Indians were 6 percent and 1 percent,
respectively.
“Getting more first generation and low-income
students in graduate schools, you are going to have to
buy them,” said Dr. Nan Wells, a retired Princeton
University professor. “Many students are concerned
about the costs of graduate studies. Graduate
students need reliable, multi-year financial support,”
she said.
