GRADUATE PROGRAMS - WHY DO THEY EXIST?
and
WHAT'S INVOLVED FOR THE GRADUATE STUDENT AND HOW IS THE STUDENT SUPPORTED?


Why do graduate programs exist?

Graduate programs exist because there are many fields for which a successful career requires more than four years of study beyond high school. Graduate programs produce well-educated professionals who contribute much to society and the economy. Further, they create an atmosphere in which undergraduates learn from the advanced work going on around them, and benefit from the increased value of a degree from a higher ranking university.

The importance of graduate studies to Texas A&M University was recognized early in its history. Texas A&M University, the state's first public institution of higher education, opened for classes in 1876. In 1888, twelve years after the opening, the faculty began programs of instruction at the graduate level. By 1936 the Board of Directors had approved programs of study and research leading to the doctorate. In the 1960's the Board of Regents approved changes that resulted in graduate programs in all of the academic colleges of the University. Our land, sea, and space grant designations and the advantages they bring would not have been possible without the development of strong graduate programs.

Does a professor's work at the graduate level have practical applications outside of a university?

Definitely! The investments made in research and graduate programs today drive the technological developments of tomorrow. The impact of the semiconductor integrated circuit industry on the economies of Austin and Dallas provides a current example to the taxpayers of Texas. In this industry ideas and concepts developed by university graduate research now provide the state with tens of thousands of skilled jobs. In fact, ten chief executives of small, high-technology companies in the State of Texas, in a 1995 letter to Members of Congress, wrote, "Our University system and its research programs play a central and critical role in advancing our state of knowledge. Without adequate federal support, University research efforts will quickly erode. American industry will then cease to have access to the basic technologies and well-educated scientists and engineers that have served American interests so well."

At the national level, twenty chief executives of major US corporations, in an open letter to President Clinton reprinted in USA Today, April 24, 1996, stated, "Our universities, and the research programs pursued therein, have played a pivotal role in continually advancing our technical knowledge. Equally important, they have produced the very scientists and engineers that allow American industry to compete with nations and cultures throughout the world. The standard of living we enjoy today has, in large part, been made possible by our ingenuity and creativeness and our ability to continually advance and apply technology."

Taxpayers of Texas find that the reputation of the university to which they send their sons and daughters is based upon the ranking of that institution's graduate research programs. The activities of graduate students benefit all of the university community. The graduate students who are now conducting research independently or jointly with faculty will be the leaders in their fields of study in a few years and many of them will be the professors for the next generation of students. Their work will ultimately benefit our economy and our entire society.

In short, it is essential for the economic health of our state and nation that we continue to promote strong university research and graduate programs. These are the educational seed corn for our future.


What special value do graduate studies bring to the graduate student?

At the beginning, graduate studies seem quite similar to undergraduate studies. The student takes more classes, and gets a deeper understanding of the subject. In some programs, this kind of study eventually culminates in the "qualifying" or "preliminary" examinations, which are long and thorough exams, usually written, covering everything the student is supposed to know by then. Many professors say that they knew more about their subject at the time of their qualifying exams than any time before or since. At this stage the student may stop with a master's degree.

However, there are other programs in which the further courses are capped by the writing of a research thesis instead of qualifying exams. This thesis must show that the student has learned scholarship at a professional level.

What about the PhD degree?

The PhD studies are much more intense. A professor spends hours with a PhD student discussing the student's work and guiding the student toward the sort of professionalism that characterizes the well-trained professor.

This is the time when the student learns to do research. Even students who have done research before embarking on a PhD program gain enormously in the depth of their understanding of how to choose problems, extend the questions originally asked as evidence comes in, and build a research program.

In brief, research is the process of studying a question whose answer is not known and developing a response to the question. The culmination of successful research is a well-developed theory that answers the original question, and more questions besides, and raises new questions that are worth studying.

There is a significant danger to the student at this stage. Research is publishable only if it is new, and a degree is granted only for successfully completed publishable research. There are many cases on record of graduate students whose research projects failed - no useful answer to the initial question was found, or one was found but it was anticipated by another researcher someplace else. In such cases the student's research project may have to be scrapped and the student starts over with a new research project.

The studies for the PhD degree would typically average 4 to 7 years beyond the baccalaureate degree. The new PhD can then seek a job in industry or government or at a college or university.

How are graduate students supported?

We employ graduate students as lab assistants, research assistants, and lecturers. This gives them income and relieves the burden on their parents. Of course, we don't have unlimited funds to support these students, so we offer low salaries; but we offer enough that, with prudent spending, they can usually make it through their studies without going far into debt.