In the Graduate School's plan to raise tuition over the next three years, one group that may be hit hardest is master's degree students--who typically do not receive the same level of financial support as doctoral students.
"Any increase in tuition would hurt us," said Frederick Mayer, director of graduate studies in public policy. Mayer said he had not been consulted about and was not intimately familiar with the recent proposal, which would raise tuition by 10 to 11 percent in each of the next three years, from $21,660 to $29,550.
Unlike many Arts and Sciences departments, public policy studies does not support a doctoral program, only a master's program. Mayer likened the degree as more akin to a professional law or business degree than a doctorate.
"Our students already pay substantial tuition for a degree that prepares them in public service and often leaves them heavily in debt," he said, adding that the public policy master's program brings in substantial net revenues for the Graduate School. "We are in a financially competitive marketplace for good students, and we already find it difficult to make competitive offers, so if the graduate school raises tuition, there will need to be substantial concessions made to professional master's programs."
One of those concessions might be a change in the tuition structure for master's programs. Currently, these students pay $750 per unit--each class consists of three units.
Dean of the Graduate School Lewis Siegel noted that a master of public policy, for example, requires an extra course, so students in that field pay extra. He said it might make more sense to have students pay per year rather than per unit and perhaps some master's degree programs could be completed in one year.
The current limit for the master's degree is two years and the minimum course load is 10, but some degrees, such as the Master of Arts in Teaching, are one-year programs.
Siegel also said he will consider waiving the difference in increase for current master's students, many of whom said they realized the necessity of the increase, sparked by rising costs and a growing Graduate School deficit. But the students said they hope the burden will be minimized.
"It would certainly be a hardship, seeing as how graduate students, we've just come through four years of undergraduate [work]," said Tim Saintsing, a second-year master's student in public policy and GPSC representative. "I'm hoping through all of this, our assistantships, our TA stipends, our grants will subsidize that tuition."
Dallas Stallings, another second-year public policy graduate student, noted many master's students do not receive the same kind of financial support as doctoral students. Siegel acknowledged that although departments can provide some aid for tuition, most master's students pay the registration fees, which will increase proportionally with tuition.
Rosemary Thorne, director of the Master of Arts in Teaching program, said she had consulted with Siegel about the tuition hike and he had assured her the Graduate School would work with the MAT program to make sure master's candidates are not carrying an undue burden.
"[MAT students have] good financial aid packages, in the form of scholarships and stipends," Thorne said.
"They're not competitive with Ph.D. programs, but we're going to continue that... funding for graduate education."
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