AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION: CONTEXT FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL Pamela L. Eddy, Ph.D. School of Education Higher Education Administration

AGENDA  Historical context for higher education in the United States  Shifting role for graduate school  Key decision points for university selection  Planning for future careers

YOUR AGENDA  What do you want to know more about regarding American Higher Education?  What have you assumed about American graduate school?  How have your expectations been met during your current stay?

HISTORICAL CONTEXT  Harvard—first university established in 1636—primarily to educate ministers  College of William & Mary—second college established in 1693  Colonial Colleges—balanced duties to both church and province [Harvard, W & M, Collegiate School (now Yale), College of New Jersey (now Princeton), College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania), King’s College (now Columbia University), Rhode island College (now Brown University), Queen’s College (now Rutgers), Dartmouth college  Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862—established at least one college of ag & mechanical arts in each state—utilitarian education 4

HISTORICAL CONTEXT—CONT’D  1876—Johns Hopkins offer graduate education—the beginning of the research university  – increases in junior colleges  —GI Bill 1944, idea of mass education Higher Education Act amendments formalized commitment to student aid. Larger social issues.  —Shift from grants to loans for students. Title IX. Increase in public criticism of the economic relevance of academic research and assessment of student learning.  2000-present—Concern over economic viability of colleges, completion of college—increasing graduation rates, accountability 5

SHIFTING ROLES FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL  Changes since the focus on graduate school at John Hopkins (1900)  Increases in degrees:  1990—103,508  2000—118,736  2010—158,558  Doctorates by discipline:

CURRENT ISSUES IN DOCTORAL STUDIES  Completion rates—about 50%  Socialization for future careers  College faculty  Research  Business  Carnegie Foundation for Teaching  5-year study  Rethinking Doctoral Education: Purpose, principles of formation, apprenticeship reconsidered, intellectual community  Global Comparisons/Modeling

SOME HUMOR  So you want to be an Economics PhD So you want to be an Economics PhD  So you want to go to Law School So you want to go to Law School

POINTS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER  Fit  Location  Major professor  Campus community  Funding  Commitment  Expectations  Career Options  Networking  Experience

PARTING COMMENTS—PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE  Think about motivations for graduate school  Fit matters—and getting along  A student perspective A student perspective

Questions? Pamela Eddy