What is Graduate School? What is a Graduate Degree?

Graduate programs offer advanced study in a field or discipline, providing you with the skills to practice a specific profession (professional degree) or to engage in original research and teaching (research-based degree). A master's or doctoral degree can lead to positions in academia and in the public and private sectors.

A graduate degree is an advanced degree that typically focuses on mastery-level theoretical knowledge of a certain subject, such as mathematics or English, or applied and theoretical mastery-level knowledge of a particular profession. Like a baccalaureate degree, there are different types of masters, such as Master’s of Arts (M.A.) or Master’s of Science (M.S.). Professional master’s degrees can have the profession in the degree title, such as M.Ed. - Master’s of Education or M.Ac. - Master’s of Accounting.

Beyond the mastery level is the doctorate degree, which can also have a research or professional focus. A Ph.D. focuses on building expertise-level knowledge of a certain subject and will culminate in original research in the form of a dissertation, whereas a professional doctorate (e.g., Doctorate of Psychology, Psy.D.) will have a more applied focus within the profession.

Learn more about each step of the process below or in our roadmap to pursuing an advanced degree.