College Readiness Assessment
Category: Pathways to and Through Postsecondary
Despite the growing share of college-educated adults returning to higher education, we know little about how individuals weigh the consequential decision to go to graduate school. In this paper, we ask how individuals decide to pursue a particular graduate program within a field of study. We draw on two independent but complementary interview studies to examine this question across the two most common master’s fields of study: business and education. We find that within both fields, students’ career values and aspirations guide them toward distinct tiers of educational prestige. In lower-status programs, students enter graduate school to pursue a credential that they hope will promote incremental career advancement. In higher-status programs, students pursue a credential that aligns with their broader professional values. Where students in business foresaw immense potential for career transitions, the occupational status of teaching limits students’ aspirations. Our findings illuminate how work experiences, occupational attributes, and institutional status shape the process of educational decision-making.
Keywords
higher education; fields of study; status; decision-making; graduate education; teacher education
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/xe6h-bx36
