Graduate school: Does it really pay off during a recession?

By Valencia Wicker





Most popular graduate degrees: Which ones and why?
 
There are nearly 58,000 graduate programs offered in the United States alone - varying in subject matter and degree. Of those programs, which are most popular and why?

The Council of Graduate Schools reports several factors that affect the popularity of graduate programs: socioeconomic and cultural issues,  geography,  time, changes in the economy and society. For instance, it isn't surprising that during an age of new technology, computer science is one of the fastest growing fields. Moreover, it is common for the enrollment of business schools to increase during a recession.

Research by the Council of Graduate Schools also shows the most popular graduate programs are education, business and the health sciences. These fields alone enrolled the largest numbers of graduate students in 2008. Overall, 24.8 percent of all graduate students were studying education and 17.6 percent studying business. Degrees in health sciences, engineering and physical sciences, follow closely behind, with health sciences making up nearly 9 percent of the total. Master's degrees are the most commonly awarded graduate degrees, with  nearly half a million recipients each year.

Fifty-eight percent of graduate students were women in fall 2009. Women accounted for the largest share of degrees in health sciences at 82.4 percent, followed by education at 76.4 percent and public administration and services at 75.7 percent. However, women comprised the smallest share of degrees in business at 45.7 percent. Gender is a large concern for educators. It is said that girls are shortchanged in math and science, while boys are discouraged in reading and creative writing. Research by the Council of Graduate Schools proves these gender generalizations remain valid. Women made up the smallest number of degrees in engineering at 21.5 percent.

For African-Americans, the Council of Graduate Schools found education is the most popular graduate field. Thirty-one percent of the education degrees awarded go to African-Americans and of those, more than 70 percent are women. Business and social science come in second and third for Blacks. Education is also the most popular for Latin Americans and Native Americans. However, statistics show Asian Americans are most likely to enroll in business, engineering and physical sciences.

Data also show graduate school is progressively becoming more popular among women and minorities, mainly due to changing priorities and fast-growing changes in society. As more and more underrepresented groups attend graduate school, graduate school will become a common trend among college graduates. Below is a chart that predicts the numbers of enrollment from the current year to 2016.