When Jessica Mulligan graduated in 2001 with a bachelor's in communication from the University of Miami-Florida, she knew pursuing a graduate degree wasn't necessary for her career.
But after she spent two years working for a magazine publishing group in Miami, she decided to go back to school. Now pursuing a master's degree in visual journalism at Ball State University, she said her decision will benefit her in the long run.
"A master's degree opens doors that would otherwise be hard to access, such as teaching opportunities," she said.
More students are going to graduate school than they were a decade ago, Deborah Balogh, associate provost dean of Ball State's graduate school, said. Balogh said most graduate students are seeking masters degrees.
"At Ball State we have seen a gradual increase in graduate enrollment for the past several years," Balogh said.
Graduate enrollment for Fall 2004 reached 3,103 students, 2,000 of which pursued masters degrees, according to Ball State's Graduate Enrollment Autumn Semester statistics. The enrollment increased by 4.9 percent since Fall 2003.
While it is difficult to identify a single motivating factor for the rise in graduate school enrollment, the rise might be due to a growing need for specialized knowledge in today's society, Balogh said. Today's rapidly changing technological world makes professional degrees beneficial and even essential in many fields, she said.
In most allied health-related fields, for example, employees who provide direct service to the public need good credentials, Balogh said.
Employees in fields such as medicine cannot practice without being licensed and certified, Balogh said. Such areas often require the graduate degree as a minimum qualification for a license, she said.
"As our economy continues to move toward being knowledge-based, a different skill set is needed among employees, especially those who seek to move into managerial roles," she said. "Graduate education provides opportunities for students to develop skills that are consistent with these workforce needs."
Balogh said Ball State's graduate program has seen a growth in nursing and in education-related fields, particularly educational administration and leadership.
Ball State's Miller College of Business had to increase its admissions standards to reduce graduate enrollment after it experienced a large increase in Fall 2003, Inga Hill, assistant to the dean for graduate programs in the Miller College of Business, said.
"We had to reduce enrollment to maintain the quality of instruction important to this program's success," she said.
Marilyn Ryan, professor and associate director of the masters program for Ball State's school of nursing, said the program has been online since 1999 and has seen an increase in students from all over the United States. As today's job market opens up, nurses are in higher demand, Ryan said.
"Because there's a shortage in nurses all over the country, we need more students, more nurse educators and more nurse practitioners," Ryan said. "To advance to these practice roles, a higher degree is needed."
School psychology, for which a higher degree is also needed, has also experienced an increase in the number of applicants, Betty Gridley, professor of educational psychology and coordinator of graduate studies, said. The number of applicants has risen steadily every year.
Jon Coddington, chairman of the Department of Architecture, said students who want to practice as licensed architects are likewise required to pursue a professional degree. Rod Underwood, professor of architecture, said the number of Ball State graduate architecture students has not significantly increased, but he expects it to increase soon.
He said Ball State's architecture program will turn from giving students a five-year undergraduate first professional degree to a six-year graduate first professional degree, he said. The program will begin accepting applications for the new program in January 2006 for the 2006-07 school year, he said.
Balogh said as the workforce's overall emphasis on graduate education continues to grow, she expects more students to continue enrolling in graduate school to meet such demands.
"Projections for the upcoming decade suggest that this trend will continue," she said.
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