Grad School Options
So you’re thinking about grad school, eh? If you’re looking into law school or business school, we’ve already got you covered. And if medical school is your dream, you probably started taking pre-med classes when you were a freshman (or you decided being a doctor was “stupid” after flunking Bio). But what about all the other degrees out there? Where did those “Masters of Philosophy” and “Earth and Environmental Sciences Ph.Ds” that you see lurking around coffeeshops and college campuses come from? If you think you’re ready to go back to school but not exactly sure where or for what, this is the guide for you.
Why Go Back to School?
The decision to go to grad school is not all about standing up on your parents’ kitchen table and declaring boldly, “The keg is not yet kicked—college does not have to be over!” While no one seems to blink an eyelid when you’re wandering aimlessly through your undergraduate life, a worthwhile Masters or Ph.D. requires a certain degree of focus and purpose. There are three main reasons for this: 1) Grad school is another major expense at a point in your life when you probably have negligible income (and maybe a lot of debt). 2) Grad school programs usually have a (somewhat) clearer professional/career bent than undergrad degrees. 3) No one likes a lecherous “academic” who keeps going to college parties to scheme on young ‘uns.
That said, there are many good reasons to pursue further education. For example, if you’re at a job where your employer is willing to subsidize a degree, why not take advantage of their kindness? Indeed, the best reason to attend grad school is if it will help propel you toward your professional goals (on the flip side, it’s not so great for “figuring out if you like East Asian Studies,” for example). Another reason might be if you can study abroad and gain an opportunity for cultural immersion that you wouldn’t otherwise get, or if you’re making a drastic shift into a new industry and need to fill in the gaps in your experience. Finally, if you want to be an academic or professor in a given field, grad school is certainly worth considering (and often necessary).
The important thing to realize is that while a small number of professions require advanced degrees (e.g., you need a law degree to become certified to be a lawyer), most do not. And while a Masters or Ph.D. may be associated with higher-paying jobs and greater responsibility, there’s not always a direct correlation in every field (e.g., a journalism degree will not get you a higher salary than someone without one—though it may help you get a better job).
Brainstorming Grad School Options
Our same golden rule about jobs applies to graduate degrees: the options are endless, so don’t get tunnel vision. Perhaps the best approach is to look at people in the job or field you aspire to and see what type of educational background they have. But if you’re totally uncertain, try pinpointing this little brainstorming game. The examples below are by no means comprehensive, but hopefully they get the wheels turning to do your own research.
If you’re into public health…
Don’t know what public health is? Basically, it’s a field focused on the prevention (as opposed to the treatment) of disease—for example, handing out condoms or vaccinating people for the flu are both examples of public health initiatives. It’s a way to promote healthy behavior and help people avoid illness. Interested now?
In the field of public health, the most popular degree is the Masters in Public Health (MPH), which includes two years of coursework with a summer internship in the middle. As Lindsay Stricke, a first-year Doctor of Public Health at UCLA, explains, "An MPH graduate can work in a wide variety of environments (hospitals, schools, policy, government, research, private sector, abroad); work opportunities will be greatly improved (people love hiring an MPH graduate) and the MPH degree is sufficient on its own and can lead to leadership positions.
“Another common degree is an MS in Public Health, which leads primarily to the PhD in Public Health. People with this degree usually work in academia as professors and do research full-time. Finally, there is the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), which is what I’m getting at UCLA. It is basically the MPH coursework, with a year-long internship and a dissertation. It is known as an ‘applied’ PhD, because you learn skills in population-wide analysis of health care systems, cost, and patient outcomes.”
Some of the most popular areas of study in public health include biostatistics, epidemiology (the study of a large-scale disease like HIV or Malaria), environmental health, nutrition, health policy/management, and global health. The best resource for getting information on public health graduate schools in the U.S. is ASPH.
- It’s not just JDs and MBAs – There is a degree out there to suit any interest, so don’t put up the blinders to all the opportunities available. That said, certain degrees tend to lead to higher salaries in the long-run, so if stacking that paper is your goal, think about the post-graduation implications for your career.
- Why are you going back to school? – Don’t go back to school just because you feel lost and can’t think of anything better to do. Consider things like how it will aid you in achieving your goals and whether or not you can get an employer to subsidize it.
- Brainstorm your options – If you feel like you have an academic hunger that's still unfulfilled after your time as undergrad, figure out what type of program would really satiate you (and what you could gain from it). Or, save the money and enjoy a little DIY Education.
- Choose the right program – Consider the obvious: location, size, reputation, cost. But also realize that you might want to be a little bit pickier about the program and professors you seek than you were in high school.
- Figure out your finances – This is not the ideal time in life to be racking up more debt and not making money, but there are certainly ways to make it work.
