Southern Utah University held an event for its graduate program at the Brian Head Center on Wednesday, March 11. The event informed students on how to prepare for financing graduate school and encouraged them to attend other upcoming events.
Lydia Lee Nelson, a graduate advisor for SUU, presented on how SUU’s graduate program is one of the most affordable in the United States. Nationwide, an accredited master’s degree program can cost on average around $30,000 while SUU’s graduate programs are around $13,000 in total cost.
Students can also seek funding for graduate programs by applying for FAFSA, loans, select tuition programs and scholarships, and can even seek help from their employers by requesting financing from organizations’ professional development funds.
The graduate advisors encouraged students who attended the event to continue their education at SUU. The university has several graduate programs and enrollment has been growing in the past few years.
The programs are: Aviation, Business, Communications, Computer Science, Education, Humanities, Human Behavior and Social Sciences, Outdoor and Environment, Performing and Visual arts, Health Sciences, Science and Math, and Engineering and Technology.
The skyrocketing growth of the graduate program may be a consequence of the pandemic. COVID-19 has had devastating effects on the labor force of the United States with massive layoffs.
Nelson believes that during this time of massive unemployment that higher education may be a tool to use in the future when seeking re-employment.
“People realize the job market is going to get more competitive and education will set them apart,” said graduate advisor Lydia Lee Nelson.
The presentation ended with a looming question, “Is [graduate school] worth it”?
According to a National Association of Colleges and Employers 2019 survey, individuals with graduate degrees earn tens of thousands of dollars more than those without graduate degrees.
According to Nelson, the event was a success. The graduate program plans on holding another “Grad School Awareness” event next fall and may hold a dinner with the directors of SUU’s master’s degree programs during the summer.
Story and photo by: Danielle Meuret
d.m.meuret@gmail.com
