By Jennifer Baik
Assistant News Editor
Statistics show that 43.4 percent of Pepperdine undergraduate students attend graduate schools after graduation.
Why would so many students decide to continue on to a higher education?
Compared to other competitive colleges in California, Pepperdine is known to have more of its undergraduate students attending graduate schools after they obtain their bachelor’s degree.
While 18 percent of UCLA undergrads decide to attend graduate school straight out of college, only 32 percent decide to further their education after a year out of graduation.
At the University of California, San Diego, 18 percent decide to continue their education while only 36 percent apply after a year.
At the University of California, Irvine, the percentage is 8 percent out of a 21,286 student population attending grad school and 12 percent continuing after a year.
According to Keli Finnerty, the communication division internship coordinator, many of the communication majors are required to have internships so that they can get the extra experience and research they will need to help them survive the workplace.
Internships and service leadership learning programs also help prepare most of these students for grad school.
“So much is available for students here,” Finnerty said. “Pepperdine has done a great job of promoting career services such as career roundtables and fairs to help students become aware of what’s possible out there.”
Graduate school may not be for everyone, but it does have its benefits for students as a program designed to train one in the field of research.
Almost half of Pepperdine’s undergrads have decided to dedicate their time to more focused and sustained work, unlike the undergraduate programs, which might not give an individual enough time to build a personal identity.
The April 1999 senior survey shows that only 19.1 percent of the students reached for a higher education right after their graduation but then it jumped to 43.4 percent after a year during the February 2001 follow-up survey.
“Many of our students are looking beyond a bachelor’s degree,” said Dr. Norman Fischer, director of institutional research. “Many plan to go onto a master’s, professional, or even a doctorate program right after they graduate from here.”
Phil Ragusa, a senior Pepperdine undergrad double majoring in industrial organizational psychology and economics, plans to attend law school upon his graduation next December. Ragusa is thinking of applying to Pepperdine, UCLA and Columbia. Pepperdine’s law school ranked No. 2 in the area of dispute resolution in U.S. News & World Report.
“I’m not really looking into it (graduate programs) for the money,” Ragusa said. “It’s about the level of knowledge you can obtain from studying law — whether it be from philosophy or the origination of rhetoric in law.”
Another reason many of Pepperdine’s undergrads decide to continue their education beyond college is the competitive environment they are placed in. Since all four of these grad schools are located next to the undergraduate Seaver campus, they make students think about life beyond an undergraduate education.
Pepperdine has four graduate schools: Graziado School of Business and Management (GSBM), School of Law, School of Public Policy, and the School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). The GSEP campus is located in Culver City.
“Graduate school is the logical next step for many of the students who attend Seaver College,” said Kathie Kieran-Johnson, the director for career advising and services. “Students who attend Seaver are high caliber. Combine that with the outstanding preparation provided by liberal arts curriculum of the college and you have young adults poised for success in the graduate school setting.”
Many helpful Web sites, upcoming meeting postings in the quad area, webmail, PepXpress, student round tables, annual career fairs, graduate programs, internship programs, resume workshops and appointments with the career academic advisor are among the top information sources that provide Pepperdine students with the preparation to attend grad school.
“Our faculty do a great job of helping our students recognize that they will committed to careers that will be leadership, expertise and or excellence-based, and then directing them toward the appropriate programs,” Kieran-Johnson said. “The Career Services Office also works with students to help them discern if graduate school should be a part of their career plan.”
Phil Ragusa, a senior Pepperdine undergrad double majoring in industrial organizational psychology and economics, plans to attend law school upon his graduation next December.
Ragusa is thinking of applying to Pepperdine, UCLA and Columbia. Pepperdine’s law school ranked No. 2 in dispute resolution in U.S. News & World Report.
“I’m not really looking into it (graduate programs) for the money,” Ragusa said. “It’s about the level of knowledge you can obtain from studying law — whether it be from philosophy or the origination of rhetoric in law.”
Pepperdine has four graduate schools: Graziado School of Business and Management (GSBM), School of Law, School of Public Policy, and the School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). The GSEP campus is located in Culver City.
“Graduate school is the logical next step for many of the students who attend Seaver College,” said Kathie Kieran-Johnson, the director for career advising and services.
“Students who attend Seaver are high caliber. Combine that with the outstanding preparation provided by liberal arts curriculum of the college and you have young adults poised for success in the graduate school setting.”
Many helpful Web sites, upcoming meeting postings in the quad area, student round tables, annual career fairs, graduate programs, internship programs, and resume workshops are among the top information sources for grad school.
“Our faculty do a great job of helping our students recognize that they will committed to careers that will be leadership, expertise and or excellence-based, and then directing them toward the appropriate programs,” Kieran-Johnson said.
“The Career Services Office also works with students to help them discern if graduate school should be a part of their career plan.”
January 24, 2002