North Carolina Council of Graduate Schools

Graduate education…creates a highly skilled workforce for the state

Economic Benefits
Quality of Life Benefits

Sources: CollegeBoard report “Education Pays 2004: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society” and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• Graduate degrees increase the employability of individuals and their wage-earning potential. According to the U.S. Census, adults with advanced degrees earn an average 44% more than those with bachelor's degrees.

  Sources: Council of Graduate Schools report “Graduate Education and the Public Good”

• Graduates from advanced degree programs have significantly lower unemployment rates than the general population. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one-sixth of the fastest growing occupations for 2006-2016 require a master's or doctoral degree.

  Sources: Council of Graduate Schools report “Graduate Education and the Public Good”

• Advanced education provides the opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds to develop and achieve their full potential.

• The availability of high quality graduate education avoids the “brain drain” faced by some other states. Research endeavors at UNC-CH, NCSU and NC A&T alone created more than a 100 startup companies that not only helped keep the best North Carolinians in the state, but also attracted exceptionally talented people from other parts of the world.

• Graduate education meets North Carolina's need for highly skilled professionals who become our state’s leaders and providers of health care, education, entrepreneurial and business enterprises, government and nonprofit services.