Students who are considering grad school but are worried about financing their education can look across the pond for a cheaper graduate school experience.
Peterson’s, an informational higher education group that helps with test preparation, student loans and university research, reported in 2016 that the average public university graduate program in the United States costs $30,000 a year and the average private university program costs $40,000 a year.
Terrence Graham, associate dean and executive director for international programs of Cal State Long Beach’s College of Continuing and Professional Education, said that price is an obvious factor for why students go abroad. Since most overseas programs last one year, the smaller amount of time spent in the program results in lower tuition fees.
For some students, the cost factor of an international master’s degree was the first thing that attracted them to go overseas.
Shayon Konjkav graduated from Sacramento State University last year and is currently in his first year of graduate school in Berlin. The international relations and cultural diplomacy student is studying at the Hochschule Furtwangen University in a program partnered with the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy.
According to its website, the ICD is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that focuses on extending research, programs and practices in the field of diplomacy.
When researching graduate schools in the U.S., Konjkav said that he could not afford the programs due to their high costs, so he turned to Europe to look at grad programs there.
“[The cost here] is miniscule compared to costs of getting a post-graduate degree in the U.S.,” he said. “Cost was a huge factor.”
Konjkav’s two-year master’s program costs about 12,000 euros, or $13,207, depending on the exchange rate.
However, the benefits of going abroad are not just in the cost of attendance.
“An overseas degree can be an excellent launching pad for a student who is seeking an international career pathway. For someone interested in international business, for instance, topping off a U.S. undergraduate degree with an MBA from an overseas institution opens up a range of options for pursuing an international career,” Graham said. “For someone who wants to focus on foreign affairs, having a U.S. and an overseas degree can really underscore how prepared a person is for a career in humanitarian aid or diplomacy or international development, for example.”
Blanca Varela, a UC Irvine graduate, said that ever since she studied abroad during her undergraduate year, she knew she wanted to attend grad school outside of the U.S.
“I really loved the idea of meeting new people and just learning different perspectives and learning about different cultures,” she said.
Varela is also enrolled in the partnership between Hochschule Furtwangen University and the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy with Konjkav.
For both Varela and Konjkav, having an international degree benefits their career choices.
“I feel that it will be very beneficial to get a foreign degree while already having a U.S. bachelor’s degree, especially in this international relations field,” Konjkav said. “I’ll have opportunities for a lot more exposure to foreign dignitaries to many more countries [in Germany] … than we do in the U.S.”
Graham noted that there are more career benefits to having an overseas degree.
“The network that you develop by studying overseas will span the globe,” he said. “If you study in a program in Singapore or Amsterdam or Buenos Aires, you will be studying alongside students from dozens of different countries and you will develop friends and colleagues all over the world.”
Varela echoed similar thoughts and credits European culture as to what attracted her.
“Growing up in a [Latinx] community, that was basically all I knew and I wanted to branch out,” she said. “I chose Europe because I feel there’s so much to learn from this culture.”
However, the task of applying to a graduate program in a foreign country might seem daunting to some students, but Graham said that the application process is fairly simple.
“Many overseas universities have application processes designed to be easy for international applicants,” he said. “In the Center for International Education, we have informational resources on opportunities for graduate study abroad. Our team can put you in direct contact with one of our bilateral exchange partners that might have a graduate degree program that you are interested in.”
Konjkav and Varela both said that the application process was more simple than applying to U.S. based programs.
“[The] application process was fairly straightforward, very similar to that of the U.S.,” Konjkav said. “It was nice because I didn’t need to apply a year in advance, I did it only about four to five months prior to the start of [university].”
“[It] wasn’t hard at all,” Varela agreed. “I feel like it’s a lot simpler than the process back in the U.S., less stressful because the deadlines are in the spring for a fall semester as opposed to sending out applications in the fall for the next fall semester.”
Additionally, many universities, such as Hochschule Furtwangen University, offer programs completely in English.
When it’s time to choose between a domestic and international grad school program, Graham said that it comes down to the kind of experience a student wishes to have.
“Although the U.S., with its 4,000 [plus] universities, offers a breadth of opportunities for graduate study, many overseas universities can offer an experience that differs from U.S. graduate study in significant ways,” he said. “A general observation on differences is that study in the U.S. tends to be broader and shallower, whereas in many overseas institutions, advanced study can be focused and deep.”
U.S. students who have decided to further their education in a foreign country should embrace the opportunity of going abroad, Konjkav said.
“My main fear was that I was not going to experience what I was hoping for and maybe the education level wasn’t going to be exactly up to the same standard of the U.S.,” he said. “My main hope was that this would be an opportunity for me to meet so many new connections and people and ultimately find a career in the field of [international relations] and diplomacy.”
Valera said that the excitement of starting in a new country overshadowed any trepidations she had.
“Honestly, I don’t think I was scared once the door was opened,” she said. “I was more excited to be here and creating a new chapter.”
Should a student decide to go abroad for their graduate studies, Graham said they will be gaining necessary skills for the increasingly globalized world.