Graduate Schools - Research Paper Example

Graduate Schools Graduate schools are very important for a prosperous society where knowledge is generated to solve real life problems. More people need to attend graduate schools to reap the associated benefits. The global economy depends so much on knowledge and people should be encouraged to pursue further studies in the schools to be empowered, think critically and solve life problems and challenges. Graduate schools are centers for research and development. They exist to do research and generate new knowledge to make life more comfortable and worthwhile. The importance of graduate education cannot be underestimated in light of this. The research conducted in the institutions lead to the discovery of new goods and services that help enhance productivity in organizations. A graduate student is one who is empowered since he has the knowledge to solve problems in his immediate environment. Graduate students find employment easily as they are considered by high profile organizations. They have the knowledge and skills to perform various tasks and help in transforming organizations. They also have mastered a lot of knowledge and skills to solve various organizational problems. On the other hand, they can find self employment as they have the requisite and knowledge to do so. They also carry great social value. They bring students from various societies together. These students interact and share their different cultures. In this way, the schools contribute significantly to the elimination of ethnocentricity and replace it with social harmony. Life in graduate school is not just about education on the career path, it has much to do with the society. Many people who have undergone training in graduate schools normally confess that the schools are of great value to their personal development as well as career. It is also a platform where students learn the value of independence. In most instances, students go to the graduate schools from the hands of parents. They get out exploring and becoming independent beings from the provision and protection of their parents. They come to interact with peers, learn about different things (Seligman, 50). They come to develop spiritual, mental and psychological independence which is necessary for personal development. It is also in graduate schools where many people find their spouses. Many world leaders and renowned individuals met their husbands and wives in graduate schools. This is a very fundamental aspect that lends credence to the fact that there are diverse activities taking place in graduate schools apart from teaching and learning. The environment creates a peaceful platform where people meet and discuss matters of common interests. They get to know each other and establish successful future families. Graduates come out of the schools as critical thinkers. They get exposed to events and circumstances that sharpen their intellectual capacity and make them question the way things happen. Graduates do not just watch things happen; they make things happen through critical thinking, decision making and problem solving (Hager and Susan, 13). They accumulate broad spectrum of ideas and strategies to create solutions to existing problems. While the society may be looking at some events as problems, focused graduates look at them as opportunities. They have entrepreneurial minds that help in the transformation of the society to great heights of success. They can raise critical questions and articulate on problems with clear sights and minds. They formulate the problems precisely and clearly having mastered great research skills. The running of technical aspects of governments, manufacturing and service industries cannot be smooth without the participation of the graduates. The schools equip them with the knowledge and skills to successfully run the industries. Government agencies need technocrats to run the affairs smoothly. In most cases, they obtain the technocrats from graduate schools (Seligman 29). They need people with diverse skills to manage ministries and help with accounting, planning and auditing. The schools equip students to be effective managers. They teach about coordination, directing and leadership. It is no wonder that a big portion of countries’ leadership come from the graduate schools. In elections, the electorates look for individuals with adequate skills to lead them and manage the countries or regional resources. As such, they go for people from graduate schools that are deemed to possess the charisma and high integrity standards to represent them (Seligman, 34). Graduate schools equip students to gather and assess information in their respective environments and use it to make the society a better place. The society is quickly getting transformed by advancement in information and communication technologies. The quality of life now depends on the amount of information one has and his ability to use the information to his advantage. A graduate is someone who is informed in current affairs and who the society relies upon to create a difference. The graduate school prepares graduates to reason rationally and make conclusions that build rather than destroy the environment. Now, more than ever, issues of global warming are nagging the minds of major world leaders. The rate at which the climate is changing is alarming and scaring. There is need for urgent solutions to bring to an end the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to the warming. There is need to conduct more research to ensure that the problem of global warming is effectively and efficiently addressed. There is no other place suitable for conducting the research other than the graduate schools. The persistence of global warming threatens the peace of the world and the generations to come. Graduates in the various fields of geology and engineering are needed to come up with measures to curb the problem before it gets out of hand. Graduate schools also equip students to think with a high degree of open-mindedness. Graduates are not fixed in their thinking. They are open to debates and are quite flexible with respect to decision making. They are able to recognize and assess situations critically, make assumptions, implications and practical consequences of their actions. Accordingly, they act after assessing situations with sharp and open minds. Graduates also master great communication, human relations and communication skills. They go through intensive theoretical and practical learning that transforms them into useful assets in the society. They are relied upon to figure out solutions to complex problems at individual, group and societal levels. This is because the graduate schools have equipped them with knowledge and skills to solve such complex problems. Think tanks in virtually all fields of knowledge come from graduate schools (Hager and Susan, 21). Whether in the field of medicine, technology, religion, humanities and social sciences, the leading brains are produced from the graduate schools. Strategic global thinkers with diversified knowledge and skills come from these graduate schools. From the foregoing, graduate schools play very significant roles towards the growth and development of the society. They contribute to research and development in economics, politics, social sciences, cultural aspects and religion. The society needs graduate schools to do research, enhance global competition and build a very vibrant economy. I argue in support of the existence and functions of graduate schools. There is no growth and development without them. As such, more people should consider attending graduate schools. Works Cited Capitalizing on Innovation: Entrepreneurship and Graduate Education. Washington, D.C: Council of Graduate Schools, 2007. Print. Hager, Paul J, and Susan Holland. Graduate Attributes, Learning and Employability. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2006. Internet Resource. Seligman, Amanda I. Is Graduate School Really for You?: The Whos, Whats, Hows, and Whys of Pursuing a Masters or Ph.d. Baltimore, Md: John Hopkins University Press, 2012. Print. Read More