Undergraduate Student Interest in Graduate School In the Spring of 2011 Kennesaw State University s undergraduate students were surveyed to gauge their interest in pursuing graduate education. The information gathered from the survey revealed that there is a great deal of interest in graduate education, especially at KSU.
Undergraduate Students Interest in Graduate Education In the Spring of 2011, a survey of Kennesaw State University s (KSU) undergraduate student body was conducted to garner insight into the interest of graduate education amongst undergraduate students. The survey asked participants about the types of graduate programs they might be interested in, and features of graduate programs that were most appealing. A total of 587 completed surveys were collected during the span of the survey s availability. Nearly 5 of respondents reported that they lived in Cobb County. A total of 251 (43%) participants indicated that they lived in Cobb County. Cherokee county was the second most frequently reported county with 92 (1) participants indicating that they lived in the county. Fulton county followed Cherokee county with 42 (7%) respondents, and Gwinnett was next with 36 (). Paulding (24, ) and Bartow (18, 3%) counties were the final counties in the top six reported. Participants next indicated what their declared undergraduate major was. The most frequent responses were Elementary and Early Childhood Education (43, Nursing (40), and Biology (25). All other undergraduate majors offered at KSU were represented by at least one participant except for Art History, Music, African and African Diaspora Studies, and Philosophy. Figure 1: of Students within a Declared Undergraduate Major Interested in Graduate School 10 8 6 4 2 Figure 1 depicts the percentage of students in a given undergraduate major that reported an interest in pursuing graduate studies. Participants also listed their class standing. A total of 202 (3) participants indicated that they were classified as a senior. This was the largest group of the different classifications. A junior classification was reported by 145 (25%) participants. The sophomore classification was reported by 102 (17%) participants, and the freshmen classification was reported by a slight higher number of participants (117, 2) A large portion of the participants indicated they were fulltime students. A total of 444 (7) participants indicated they were enrolled in school full time. Only 116 (2) participants were enrolled part-time. The majority of respondents indicated that they were interested in continuing their education at the graduate level. A total of 392 (67%) participants indicated they were interested in attending graduate school. 142 (2) participants indicated that they were unsure if they were interested in attending graduate school. In each class designation, an interest in graduate 1
school was reported by an average of 7 of the participants. This suggests that students interested in graduate school as freshmen remain interested throughout their time in undergraduate studies. What seems to fluctuate is the number of students who are unsure if they would like to continue their education beyond the undergraduate level. s of Preferred Graduate Programs Survey respondents clearly indicated that KSU was their preferred institution to pursue graduate studies. On campus programs were the most preferred type of program, and on campus/online hybrid programs are the second most preferred type. Only 1 of participants indicated they would like to attend an online only program. Loans from financial institutions are the primary source of funding graduate education. Only 1 of participants indicated they would utilize research or teaching assistantships as a method for funding graduate education. The lack of popularity of other methods of funding graduate education may indicate a need for undergraduate students to learn more about the different methods available for funding. Figures 2,3, and 4 highlight some of the different preferences for graduate programs of interest to participants. Figure 2: Preferred Graduate School Location Figure 3: Preferred Type of Graduate Program Figure 4: Funding for Graduate School 3 2 3 6 KSU Georgia Outside Geogia Atlanta 39% 1 4 4 On Campus On Campus Online Hybrid On Campus Evening and Weekends Online 1 1 5% 19% 3% 45% 53% Financial Loan Employer Family Family Loan Assistantship Work Study Military Figure 5: Undergraduate Students Interest in Graduate Education by College Participants undergraduate major was 10 8 6 4 2 used to determine what percentage of students enrolled in colleges at KSU were interested in graduate school. Figure 5 displays the results from this analysis. The College of Science and Mathematics was reported as the highest percentages of students with an interest in graduate programs. 2
Interest in Colleges Programs The results of the survey also indicated which graduate programs within each college garnered the most interest. The Bagwell College of education programs are reflected in figure 6. Figure 6: Interest in Programs within College of Education 1 1 The respondents reported the most interest in early childhood education graduate programs. Middle grades education programs received the second most number of interested student followed by other disciplines such as history, English, and mathematics education. Figure 7: Interest in Programs within Coles College of Business Figure 7 depicts the amount of interest in 1 programs housed in the Coles College of Business. The most often reported graduate program of interest to undergraduate students in the Coles College of Business was management. The graduate program in accounting followed behind management. International business was the third most reported program. Finance, professional sales, and economics were also reported. Presently the Coles College of Business does not offer graduate programs in international business, finance, professional sales, or economics. Future expansion of graduate programs may benefit from an already existing interest in these programs. 3
Psychology Sociology History Int'l Affairs Communica Writing Political Criminal Conflict Anthropology American Public Admin Geography A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research The College of Humanities and Social Science offers the most undergraduate and graduate degrees at KSU. Figure 8 depicts the reported interest in graduate programs within the college. Psychology received the most interest followed by sociology and history. Although sociology and history are programs with high interest, they are not currently offered. Figure 8: Interest in Programs within College of Humanities and Social Science Figure 9: Interest in Programs within College of Science and Mathematics Programs of interest in the area of science and mathematics included biology, biochemistry, and chemistry as well as others. Figure 9 reflects the interest in graduate programs traditionally held in the science departments. However, at present the College of Science and Mathematics only offers one program in applied statistics. The amount of interest in graduate programs in KSU s undergraduate students highlights the need for more graduate programs within the College of Science and Mathematics. The interest in art programs is represented in figure 10. The most interest was reported in painting and drawing programs as well as photography. The complete lack of graduate art programs within the College of Art at KSU leaves KSU undergraduate students no choice but to pursue their graduate studies at another institution. Figure 10: Interest in Programs within College of Art 5% 3% 1% 4
Undergraduate Student Profile Using the information from the survey, it is possible to create a profile of the typical undergraduate student who is interested in each colleges programs. Tables 1 through 5 show the characteristics of students interested in a particular college s programs. Table 1: s of Students Interested in Graduate Education Programs Undergraduate Major Early Childhood 3 Class Standing Senior 4 Classification Full-time 8 Desired Location KSU 83% Desired Program Type Hybrid 6 Method of Funding Student Loans 5 Table 2: s of Students Interested in Graduate Humanities and Social Science Programs Undergraduate Major Psychology 13% Class Standing Senior 3 Classification Full-time 79% Desired Location KSU 7 Desired Program Type Hybrid 5 Method of Funding Student Loans 6 Some characteristics were the same across each college. These shared characteristics include full-time student classification and KSU as the desired location to pursue graduate education. Variations between the colleges occurred in different areas. The College of Science and Mathematics is the only college where the typical undergraduate is not a senior. Table 3: s of Students Interested in Graduate Science Programs Undergraduate Major Biology 2 Class Standing Freshmen 31% Classification Full-time 81% Desired Location KSU 83% Desired Program Type Hybrid 55% Method of Funding Student Loans 6 5
Instead, the typical undergrad in this college is a freshman as seen in table 2. Variations also occurred in the type of program. The majority of the colleges typical undergraduate profile includes hybrid program types. However, The Coles College of Business profile indicated an evening and weekend program and the College of Art profile included on campus programs. Table 4: s of Students Interested in Graduate Business Programs Undergraduate Major Accounting 2 Class Standing Senior 41% Classification Full-time 7 Desired Location KSU 83% Desired Program Type Night and Weekend 5 Method of Funding Employer 5 Table 5: s of Students Interested in Graduate Art Programs Undergraduate Major Art 2 Class Standing Senior 47% Classification Full-time 81% Desired Location KSU 67% Desired Program Type On Campus 5 Method of Funding Student Loans 5 Finally, variations also occurred in how students would fund their graduate education. The most common option was student loans, however, the typical undergraduate student interested in Coles College of Business programs indicated they would utilize employer programs to fund their graduate education. The results of this survey clearly highlight the demand for graduate programs at Kennesaw State University. Participants indicated interest in programs beyond what is currently offered at KSU, suggesting that further expansion of graduate programs is necessary to meet the needs of students in North West Georgia. 6