Graduate school facts for kids
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A graduate school (or grad school) is a special part of a university. It is where students go to learn even more after they have finished their first university degree, called a bachelor's degree. In graduate school, students can earn advanced degrees like a master's degree or a doctoral degree (like a Ph.D.).
When you go to graduate school, you are called a graduate student (or grad student). In some places, especially in the United Kingdom, people might call you a "postgraduate student" instead.
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What is Graduate School?
Graduate school is for people who want to become experts in a certain subject. It's different from your first university degree because you usually focus on one specific area. For example, if you studied science, you might go to graduate school to become a chemist or a biologist.
What You Study in Grad School
In graduate school, you can study many different things.
- Master's degrees usually take one to three years to finish. You learn a lot about a specific topic. Examples include a Master of Science (M.S.) or a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
- Doctoral degrees (like a Ph.D.) take even longer, often four to seven years. These degrees are for people who want to do advanced research or teach at a university. You usually write a very long paper called a dissertation, which shares new knowledge.
How to Get Into Grad School
To get into graduate school, you almost always need to have finished a bachelor's degree first. This means you have already completed your first four years (or so) of university. Many universities have graduate programs. Sometimes, the graduate school is a separate building or department. Other times, it's just a set of advanced classes within the main university.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Student receives degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City, 2013
See also
In Spanish: Posgrado para niños
