While the University celebrates Graduate Student Appreciation week, graduate students without University stipends are struggling under tens of thousands of dollars in debt, according to a study released last Tuesday from the New America Education Policy Program. The study showed the median graduate borrower goes into about $40,000 in debt over the course of their degree program.
The study examined all graduate programs using numbers from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study collected in 2004, 2008 and 2012. The study includes information about undergraduate debt as well, showing some of the perceived increases in college students’ debt load can be attributed to expensive graduate degrees.
History graduate student Jason Wolfe said he thinks there is a lack of upfront information about the cost of graduate school, leading some pursuing graduate degrees to take out large loans. He said many students do this because they believe they’ll get a job immediately after obtaining their graduate degree, but that’s not always the reality.
“If you’re going into a specific major to get a Ph.D. to teach at a university, that’s a bit of wishful thinking,” Wolfe said.
Gary Byerly, graduate school dean, agrees with Wolfe that there is a lack of upfront information about the direct and indirect costs of graduate school at the University and higher education in general. Neither of them believe the University is in any way intentionally hiding the information, but both think some more could be done to make resources available.
To show the nature of the problem, Byerly tried to find a price calculator for the average cost of living in Baton Rouge, but was unable to locate it on the University’s website.
Master’s programs were the main focus of the study, showing, for example, a $17,000 leap in median debt levels for a master’s in education from 2008 to 2012.
Byerly said the current trend for graduate degrees has master’s degrees overtaking bachelor’s degrees as the professional degree, instead of being a stepping stone to a doctorate. He said above other factors, the main reason a student usually pursues a doctorate over a master’s degree is market-driven.
Wolfe gave the example of a master’s in engineering most likely landing you in a management position making a good salary. He said a master’s in humanities may leave a student without a job for a few years “before they find their place in the world.”
In terms of paying for graduate school, the University offers tuition and fee exemptions, stipends and assistantships to around half of their graduate students, averaging about $35,000 over nine months, Byerly said. Some departments, typically those with high-demand programs like science and engineering, can offer much more, he said. In contrast, programs whose endowments were hit with budget cuts and don’t have large private donations can only offer something in the range of $10,000.
Biology graduate student Brad Nelson said in an email it was fairly easy for him to acquire a tuition exemption and stipend because he’s in a higher demand field.
It’s not as easy for graduate students in less-demanded areas to be exempted. The study shows around 60 percent of graduate students take out loans. Comparable numbers for the University are difficult to pin down exactly, as the loans don’t go through the University, and the information must be offered by the graduate students, Byerly said.