Douglas Wartzok, Ph.D.

Research universities in the United States maintain worldwide recognition as the premier institutions in graduate education. With that recognition has come a desire of students of all nationalities, ethnic groups, and religions to study at research universities in the U.S. The U.S. enrolls three times as many international students as the four top English-speaking competitors combined—England, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. This has meant that graduate schools have been more diverse than other areas of higher education. International students constitute 15 percent of the overall graduate student enrollment in the U.S., with international students making up 42 percent of the graduate students enrolled in engineering, 23 percent of those enrolled in biology, and 13 percent of those enrolled in the humanities.

At Florida International University, international students also make up 15 percent of the headcount of students enrolled in graduate degree programs. Although the full impact of post-September 11 concerns and legislation are still unknown, applications from international students have increased across the country. Thus, in the absen ce of too many additional obstacles for obtaining visas, we expect to maintain our international student enrollment and the outstanding diversity that it provides.

In the past, graduate schools have been less successful in enrolling U.S. citizens who are members of minority groups. In general, the proportion of students who are Hispanic/ Latino, African American, and American Indian declines as one moves from baccalaureate to master’s to doctoral degree programs, and at each level the percentage is well below the percentage of these individuals in the U.S. population. However, recent trends are bringing the percentages more into line. As enrollment of white graduate students has declined, minority graduate enrollment has increased. Since 1995 the number of white graduate students has decreased a total of eight percent. At the same time, the annual growth rates for Hispanic/Latino, African American and American Indian graduate students have ranged from four to six percent. From 1999 to 2000, Hispanic/Latino graduate enrollment increased nine percent, African American graduate enrollment increased seven percent, and Native American graduate enrollment increased five percent.

In spite of these gains, minorities lag in terms of degree attainment at all levels. Nineteen percent of whites aged 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree compared to seven percent of Hispanic/Latinos, 11 percent of African Americans, and 29 percent of Asian/Pacific Islanders. At the master’s level, the percentages are seven percent white, two percent Hispanic/Latino, four percent African American, and 12 percent Asian/ Pacific Islanders. At the doctoral level, the percentages are less than one percent for Hispanic/Latinos and African Americans, just over one percent for whites, and three percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders. Clearly we have a great opportunity to work toward a more equitable and significantly enhanced participation of all our citizens in graduate education.

The primary benefit derived from continuing education is the learning the individual acquires, but it is also true that advanced education leads to economic as well as intellectual and cultural advantages. Based on 2000 data, the recipient of a master’s degree earns on average $52,317, or 23 percent more per year than the recipient of a bachelor’s degree. The recipient of a doctoral degree earns on average $70,740, or 35 percent more than a master’s degree recipient and 68 percent more than a recipient of a bachelor’s degree. The unemployment rate was 1.6 percent for holders of master’s degrees and 1.4 percent for those who hold a doctoral degree.

Given the outstanding advantages a graduate degree provides to the recipient, and to society in general, it is incumbent upon universities, particularly urban public research universities, to encourage and facilitate the equitable participation of all our citizens in graduate education. FIU has several programs designed with this goal in mind. The McKnight Doctoral Fellowship Program is designed to address the under-representation of African American faculty at colleges and universities in Florida by increasing the pool of African American citizens qualified with Ph.D. degrees to teach at the college and university levels. Recipients of this fellowship receive full tuition and an annual stipend of $12,000. Another Florida program is the Opportunities for Graduate and Professional Minority Students that provides a one-time $1,300 award to first-time Hispanic/Latino, African American, American Indian, or Asian/Pacific Islander graduate students.

Many universities have encouraged students graduating from baccalaureate programs to submit applications to become McNair fellows. The undergraduate McNair program is not restricted to minorities, but because of an emphasis on students who are the first in their families to attend college and come from modest financial circumstances, a large proportion of the McNair fellows are minorities. The McNair program emphasizes undergraduate research participation and, thus, McNair fellows have an excellent preparation for graduate school.

In preparing this article, I checked to confirm that FIU was among the 190 universities that waived the graduate application fee for McNair fellows. I was surprised to learn that we were not. Starting with applications received after March 1, 2002, the University Graduate School will pay the application fee for McNair fellows. The Educational Testing Service has also announced that all McNair fellows will be given a one-time fee waiver when taking the Graduate Record Examination.

Diversity in graduate education is thriving and while it is particularly encouraging to look back at recent gains, it is also sobering to look at the task ahead as we strive for equitable representation of all our citizens in graduate education and their full participation in the intellectual, cultural, and economic rewards it reaps.