For most Fairfield undergrads, academic life is over the day they receive their diplomas and pack up the beach house. But students such as Diana Polzer ’05 just can’t get enough.
Currently a graduate student in Fairfield’s school psychology program in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, her experience as an undergrad and the school’s location convinced her to return to Fairfield as a grad student.
Polzer is one of few Fairfield undergrads who continue their graduate studies with the school. Approximately 10 percent of undergrads take advantage of the University’s 32 full and part-time graduate programs.
“I think the number is small because a lot of people move back home [to a different state] after they graduate to look for jobs or apply to grad school locally so that they can live at home for free,” Polzer said. “I also don’t think that a lot of students are given enough information about the graduate opportunities here at Fairfield.”
She explained the differences between the undergrad and grad programs at Fairfield, saying that because the graduate classes are geared toward a specific profession, the amount of busy work is minimal, and “there are higher expectations that you will succeed at your assignments.”
The workload is much more concentrated on reading, according to Polzer. However, “it doesn’t seem as bad because hopefully if you chose the right graduate program to dive into, then you should be studying something that you really enjoy and want to learn more about.”
Today, the graduate program at Fairfield consists of five schools and six different programs.
It has a current annual enrollment of about 1,100 students, according to Director of the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies Marianne Gumpper.
“A lot of undergrads and even people in the community don’t know, but the Graduate School of Education has been around since the 50’s,” Gumpper said.
In addition to the Graduate School of Education, other programs include American studies, business, engineering, mathematics and nursing.
A recent open house for prospective graduate students sponsored by the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies offered several presentations on the different programs.
Prospective graduate students Jackie Davis, Sam Stark and Jackie Imperio were impressed with the range of programs and the accreditation of the schools, although they cited cost as the major drawback of the programs.
At $600 per credit for business courses and $475 per credit for the other programs, graduate classes are, by no means, cheap.
Gumpper acknowledged that the cost of graduate programs is “a hurdle that we do have to overcome in the marketplace.”
Fairfield’s graduate program, like many schools, does offer financial compensation or assistance in the form assistantships.
Some offer on-campus housing or a stipend in addition to paying for classes. Others just cover the cost of classes, said Polzer.
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