Frequently Asked Questions About Graduate School

Wondering what to do next after you receive your bachelor's degree? Graduate school just might be for you!

A graduate degree can help you to advance in your chosen career path by allowing you to explore new ideas and become an expert in your field. In many industries today, how far and how fast you advance is based upon your educational degree attainment, resulting in your ability or inability to obtain higher-level decision making positions and/or negotiate higher salaries in future career positions.

The U.S. Census Bureau indicates that both average annual income and average total lifetime income are strongly correlated to degree attainment. In a study done from Current Population Surveys of March 1998, 1999 and 2000, persons holding doctoral degrees earned 79.2% more, on average, than persons holding only bachelor's degrees and persons holding professional degrees earned 118.7% more, on average, than persons holding bachelor's degrees.

Average work life earnings are even more impressive when it comes to total dollar figures. A person with a bachelor's degree is expected to earn an average of $2.1 million dollars in his/her lifetime while a person with a master's degree will earn approximately $2.5 million based on 1997-1999 averages. More impressive, are those persons holding a doctoral degree, earning an average or $3.4 million dollars over a lifetime and professional degree holders do even better at a lifetime average of $4.4 million dollars.

More importantly, as more people go to college, the bachelor's degree comes closer to what the high school diploma used to be - an entry-level degree. This is particularly true in the fields of science, engineering and mathematics where an advanced degree is almost a requirement for a successful career in your chosen field. A graduate degree can get you where you ultimately want to be!

Graduate school is vastly different from what you might have experienced, or are currently experiencing, as an undergraduate at your respective university. As an undergraduate, you are exposed to a wide array of general subjects through your classes, usually called "breadth" requirements, where you learn a little bit about a lot of topics. In graduate school, you do the opposite. You will learn a lot about a very specialized topic, or limited number of topics, in order to become an expert in your chosen field.

There are two basic graduate degree objectives, the Master's or the Doctoral degree. They can be in either a professional or academic/research oriented field.

The master's degree usually takes 2 years to complete, while the doctoral (Ph.D.) will typically require 4-6 years to complete.

A common misconception amongst undergraduates is that it is a requirement to obtain a master's degree prior to being admitted to a doctoral program. This is false and, in fact, may lead to a longer duration of study if you ultimately seek a doctorate degree. In most cases, other than a terminal master's degree, students can be admitted directly to the doctoral program of study. In some cases, a master's degree is acquired after the first few years of study, while in others, students receive a doctoral degree without first receiving a master's degree.

As one of the major research universities in the United States, most of UCI's programs lead to a research doctoral degree. The Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph.D., requires research training in order for the student to learn how to CREATE new bodies of knowledge instead of taking classes and learning existing knowledge. Of course, new knowledge requires research that may be done in laboratories or in the field.

The Ph.D. degree usually requires coursework in at least the first two years of study and possibly more. After your coursework is completed as a Ph.D. student, you will most likely begin working under the guidance of a faculty mentor. In the sciences, you will begin working in a research laboratory with a faculty investigator. Depending on the program, sometime at the end of the first year to sometime early in your third, you are usually expected to take what are called "comprehensive" exams. These exams test your knowledge of topics in your specific field. After passing these exams, you will proceed on to formulate your research for your original research project. The dissemination of that information is done in what is called a thesis or dissertation. Once you have formulated your research you advance to candidacy and continue with your research and writing your dissertation until it is complete. Then it is reviewed and when approved for final publication you become a part of the elite 6% of the United States population with a graduate degree!

When thinking about your graduate education, it is important to review your financial situation closely and determine where you would like to be after you have obtained your doctoral degree and are starting out on your new academic or professional career path. One of the most important questions you should ask yourself is: What will be my personal out-of-pocket costs associated with attending UCI vs. another research university? Other important questions to consider are:

• How much financial burden can you take on during your graduate career?
• How much can you afford to take out in loans during graduate school?
• How much will you have to pay back in loans after you obtain your doctoral degree?
• How much will you REALLY be paying when you factor in loan interest rates?

In most cases, UCI graduate students’ full tuition and fees are covered with financial award packages such as fellowships, TA (Teaching Assistant) ships or GSR (Graduate Student Researcher) ships. Most times, a suitable living allowance is included so that UCI graduate students don’t have to take out loans they will be paying back for 10 years or maybe more, and so that they can concentrate on their studies and research during their time at UCI.

An important consideration when reviewing financial award packages is not HOW MUCH the university you have been admitted to will pay you per year, but rather, what PERCENTAGE of your total projected yearly costs a university financial award package will cover.

For instance, a $15,000 per year financial award package, whether it be fellowship, TAship, GSRship or other, will pay 100% of your required tuition and fees at UCI and still leave you with enough money for living expenses such as rent, utilities, food, and transportation, etc. On the other hand, if a private ivy league institution awarded you with an annual $15,000 financial award package, you would still be left with at least 45% of your tuition unpaid. In addition, you would have absolutely $0 left for living expenses. This usually means loans taken out year after year!

In order to cover your tuition 100% at a private institution, you must receive a financial award package equal to almost $30,000 in order to cover only your yearly tuition and required fees. Even then, you won’t have much left over for living expenses such as rent, utilities, food or transportation.

	Estimated Tuition and Required Fees for AY 2002-2003*	Total % covered by $15,000 award package	Total % covered by $20,000 award package	Total % covered by $25,000 award package	Total % covered by $30,000 award package
UCI	$5,554	270%	360%	450%	540%
PRINCETON	$26,890	55%	74%	93%	112%
HARVARD	$28,320	53%	71%	88%	106%

UCI is ranked the 12th best public university in the nation and its doctoral programs rank in the top 50 right alongside private institutions like Princeton and Harvard, according to U.S. News and World Report. With tuition and fees at approximately 20% of the cost at UCI compared to a private institution, you will undoubtedly receive a world-class education at top-dollar value!