Why Go To Graduate School?


Industry Leadership

  • Top management positions in major corporations often require advanced degrees.
  • Top technical positions usually require advanced degrees.
  • Top consulting firms rely on expert skills acquired through advanced degrees.
  • Faculty positions in universities require PhD degrees.

Career Opportunities

  • Companies looking for the best engineers trust the advanced degree as an indication of excellent skills.
  • Companies recognize excellence and tag high-potential employees to rise rapidly in the organization.
  • Graduate presentations and publications give students an opportunity to make valuable industry contacts that lead to good job offers and boost their professional reputation.

International Activity

  • International government and industry officials are highly attuned to the value of graduate degrees. Many of them hold advanced degrees, and they greatly respect business associates who do as well.
  • Consultants who have advanced degrees have a significant advantage in obtaining contracts for overseas work.

Contributions to the Industry

  • Graduate studies move from the general overview of the industry that undergraduate programs provide to in-depth knowledge of specific areas.
  • Graduate courses provide skills and tools for solving tough engineering problems, and graduate research projects help solve some of those problems.
  • The combination of increased understanding of the problems with the skills and tools to solve them provides the path to developing the technology of the future.

Personal Growth

  • Graduate courses are small, allowing students to work one-on-one with a professor.
  • Graduate research groups are diverse, providing students opportunities to work and study with an intelligent, motivated group from around the world.
  • Graduate research teams provide important training for the team membership and management that are in high demand in industry today.
  • Independent research opportunities help students improve their critical-thinking skills.
  • Writing and defending the thesis, dissertation, and conference papers improves written and oral presentation skills.
  • Life-long learning becomes a part of being an engineer.