STEM GRADUATE
PROGRAMS AND CAREERS

The

Application Process

Applying to graduate school is much more rigorous and rigid than undergraduate, due to the level of scholarship expected from students. An important distinction for an applicant transitioning from their undergraduate to graduate STEM program is the actual application process. Instead of an admissions team reviewing the applications, faculty members are often involved in reviewing applicants of a graduate program. This difference means that your application must focus on academic and professional achievements rather than a snappy essay and a high GPA.

The

ROLE OF RESEARCH

Research plays a much greater role in graduate school than undergraduate. In order to apply for graduate school, it is important to highlight any research opportunities you might have already had. Oftentimes, conducting your own research or supporting a professor’s research goals is the way that graduate students receive funding for their degrees.

The

COMPLETION TIME

Generally, college students can expect to finish their undergraduate studies in about four years. In graduate school, expecting a set-in-stone graduation date as a graduate student is not realistic — especially for PhD programs. Graduate school’s nebulous timeframe circles back to the research aspect of graduate studies, as research processes, graduate assistantship positions, practicums, and thesis preparation all can extend a student’s time in their program.

Understanding the

PREREQUISITES for STEM PROGRAMS

While having a liberal arts bachelor’s degree does not necessarily exclude you from pursuing a STEM graduate degree, it does depend on which STEM discipline you’d like to pursue. For instance, some programs — such as a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering or a Master of Science in Molecular Biology — have very rigid prerequisite requirements due to the nature of the material.

However, some STEM graduate programs require applicants to hold a bachelor’s degree but do not discriminate against non-STEM bachelor’s degrees. While the below STEM programs do not require a corresponding bachelor’s degree in the same area, they might require the student to have a certain level of academic background or work experience in the subject.

Here are just a few of the STEM-focused graduate degrees that you can pursue with an unrelated bachelor’s:

Lucrative

STEM CAREERS

In addition to an astounding job growth rate in STEM fields, many careers in STEM are significantly lucrative. According to GetEducated.com, a source that outlines a variety of degrees and careers, there are a variety of STEM degrees that will lead to high-paying career paths — we’ll focus on five of these degrees.

Graduate degrees across the board mean an opportunity for leadership roles and a pay increase, but especially for those pursuing their graduate degree in STEM, the salary difference between disciplines proves significant.

R1 institutions comprise the
best research universities in the country —

AND WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY IS ONE OF THEM

At R1 institutions, research study spans the academic spectrum at these universities, engaging grad students with research opportunities from the creative arts and humanities to the social sciences and applied sciences. T

here are also significant differences between R1 and R2 institutions:

• R1 institutions graduate more doctoral students than R2 institutions.
• R1 institutions receive significantly more funding than R2 institutions.
• R1 institutions produce more accomplished researchers than R2 institutions.

West Virginia University is among these R1 institutions and is well-known for its popular research-intensive programs. In fact, WVU announced in February 2022 that it had maintained its R1 status for another three years.

Four STEM

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Here are four of our most popular graduate programs in STEM. Each of these represents the areas of study in the STEM acronym.  

How to Become a

GRADUATE ASSISTANT AT WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Wondering how to become a graduate assistantship? You’re in the right place.

West Virginia University awards approximately 1,700 graduate assistantships annually to incoming and continuing graduate students. All graduate assistants must be accepted into a graduate degree program and are required to be enrolled full-time while employed during the fall and spring terms (9 credits or more).

Here are the types of graduate assistantships offered at WVU:

• Graduate teaching assistants teach courses, laboratory sections, and recitation sections, or provide other forms of instructional assistance.
• Graduate research assistants help faculty members with their research activities.
• Graduate service assistants typically work in one of the administrative or service offices of WVU in positions related to their program of study and that contribute to their educational experience.

Typically graduate assistantships work an average of 20 hours per week, while partial graduate assistants work an average of 10 hours per week as teaching, research, or service assistants.

For additional information on graduate assistantships visit the Graduate Education and Life website.