Choosing where and how to attend graduate school can be tough decisions.
Postsecondary education can be costly and time-consuming, especially for busy adults working full-time jobs, but a growing number of people are taking on the challenge. In fall 2024, nearly 3.2 million part- and full-time students were enrolled in graduate programs in the U.S., a 3.3% increase over the prior year, according to estimates by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Here are six questions to answer when choosing the best graduate program for your needs and goals.
1. Does Location Matter?
Most students who are pursuing master’s degrees are doing so to advance professionally, says Jeni Hart, dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate studies at the University of Missouri.
Some graduate programs include certifications in a particular field, such as health care or education, so consider whether those certifications are transferable to the state in which you plan to live after graduation, she says.
“You can’t practice in every state based on where you get your master’s of nursing degree, necessarily,” Hart says. “Let’s say you’re from Missouri. If you are pursuing your master’s of nursing in Pennsylvania, you would want to make sure that by getting your degree in Pennsylvania, you’re going to have the necessary credentials to practice in Missouri.”
[READ: 7 Critical Steps to Find the Right Grad School]
When it comes to location, it’s not just educational programs that matter, Hart says, adding that a town’s environment — food, culture and religious institutions — are important factors for some students.
Some universities will pay for prospective students who have been accepted into doctoral programs to visit their campus for free, Hart says.
2. Do You Have the Time?
Graduate school requires a significant time commitment. For adults with careers, families and other responsibilities, that commitment may be challenging.
Consider the coursework, including a dissertation or thesis requirement, and the time that you’re willing to dedicate to graduate school, especially if you’re taking on debt to pay for it, says Christina W. Yao, an associate professor and program coordinator for doctoral education administration at the University of South Carolina.
If you need flexibility in class scheduling and can function well as a student without in-person instruction, perhaps an online or hybrid program would work well for you, she says.
Learning more about your own learning style and needs is “pretty important, especially for those who are looking a little bit more (at enrolling) part-time,” she says.
[How to Get Into Graduate School]
3. Who Is on the Faculty?
When checking out doctoral programs, Hart recommends considering those with faculty members whose research aligns with your own.
“So, you want to be able to find somebody who you may potentially be able to study with to move toward the research that you’re interested in pursuing,” she says.
Yao advises looking at the bios of a graduate program’s faculty on a school’s website. Check out where they have worked, their professional experience and their research experience, she says.
“The other thing is, for doctoral students, I think it is really important to see where they are published, or what they publish, their research areas,” Yao says.
4. How Much Will it Cost and Who Is Paying?
Most master’s program students pay for their education on their own or with loans, so the cost of tuition tends to be a more significant consideration than it is for doctoral students.
Universities and foundations are more likely to offer assistantships and fellowships to students in doctoral programs than in master’s programs to cover tuition and health insurance, and provide small stipends in exchange for the students working part-time in teaching or research capacities, Hart notes.
If you plan to continue working your full-time job while pursuing a master’s degree, your employer may offer tuition assistance.
Be sure to research the cost of living in the area when comparing the pay of assistantships and fellowships. It’s possible that you’ll be better off financially with a lower-paying position if it’s in a cheaper city, Hart says.
[Read: Is Graduate School Worth the Cost?]
5. How Are the Program’s Alumni Faring Professionally?
Are the alumni of your target program getting jobs in their fields of study? If you’re taking out a loan for your education, you want to make sure you’ll be able to get a job after graduation with a salary high enough to pay back the debt, Hart says.
Universities are much more transparent now than in the past with data on graduates’ career outcomes, including disclosing the top fields in which alumni are working, she says. Some even list the top employers of their graduates.
To find out about graduates’ career outcomes, check a school’s career services or graduate program webpages, or contact the programs directly, she suggests.
6. Does the School’s Ranking Matter?
For some prospective students, going to a top college or university is a priority. There are various rankings of schools and degree programs by independent organizations.
But a school that is highly ranked as an undergraduate institution may not have graduate programs of a similar status, so it’s important to understand the factors that were used in the schools’ rankings, Yao says.
Check a ranking’s methodology to understand what the ranking specifically measures.
“Is it that the rankings are more about alumni donations, or is it more about research productivity, things like that?” Yao says.
Check out U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 rankings of the best graduate schools.
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6 Questions to Answer Before Going to Graduate School originally appeared on usnews.com
