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> shows that 40% of masters programs in the U.S. have no positive return. > "If you take in the cost of attending and the time spent not working, what you get
by tbrownaw 4y ago
> shows that 40% of masters programs in the U.S. have no positive return.
> "If you take in the cost of attending and the time spent not working, what you get out of that master's degree doesn't even pay for itself,"
Calling that a "scam" runs contrary to that other claim I hear, that universities aren't supposed to be vocational education but more about research and personal enrichment.
- ratsmack 4y agoSpending upwards of $100k or more on personal enrichment seems a bit extravagant. Unfortunately, the majority of people are coerced to go into debt when the return on the "investment" is very limited.
- adgjlsfhk1 4y agoIn a lot of fields (not all) it is highly unusual to pay for your masters/phd
- ARandomerDude 4y agoWhat fields? Honest question, not trying to flame you. I've known people who got scholarships but can't say I'm aware of any field in which paying for your own graduate degree is rare.
- david38 4y agoI’ve never heard of a student paying for their engineering, math or science degree. If you do get an offer to study, but without sponsorship, it’s a signal they don’t really want you.
- giaour 4y agoI know that's the case for doctoral degrees, but are terminal masters degrees usually fully funded in those fields?
- lokar 4y agoI'm not sure now but something like all top 30 CS programs (for students on the PhD track who are US citizens)
- episode0x01 4y agoEcon PhDs are funded
- godelski 4y agoYou're thinking of STEM fields. No one pays for a PhD in STEM. But not all masters programs have guaranteed funding. This is going to vary dramatically across schools and very much so across programs. That said, the only person I know in CS that paid for a masters at my uni chose to (and only did so for one term). Outside of that, people I know in the English department, Philosophy, and others, they are paying.
- giaour 4y agoIn the humanities (at least ~10 years ago), it was unheard of both to pay for your own PhD and for a terminal masters to be funded. MA students paid full tuition, which provided a lot of the funding for PhD students.
- Agamus 4y agoAfter the 2008 economic crash, a lot of US colleges and universities experienced a drastic realignment of their entire core mission and method to focus on career outcomes and ROI. Even without this, graduate programs are one of the biggest money makers in an institution's budget. If I have it right, undergraduate tuitions generally cover operational costs, while graduate programs and donations are where institutions makes their non-profitty millions.
- harvey9 4y agoBoth can be true. I've mostly encountered employers using formal education as a filter on applicants. But plenty of research is done on campus as well.
- daenz 4y ago>that universities aren't supposed to be vocational education but more about research and personal enrichment. Where do you hear that?
- rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y agoNot the commenter. I don’t hear people saying that (as a matter of fact I think it’s a problem that it’s not being said enough) but I think so too, solely from deduction. If universities were supposed to perform the same function as trade schools, then why do universities offer experiences and facilities way beyond what trade schools offer? One has to ask oneself at some point what is supposed to be the differentiation.
- fmajid 4y agoIt’s a carry-over from the era when a college education was a Veblen good for the wealthy and connected who would have gotten a job without it anyway. Not a serious policy prescription.