masters verses bachelors tuition

Gregg raised a point in another thread about masters tuition being more costly with the work being more difficult.

I've always wondered about the tuition increase. Does a graduate program cost more than an undergrad program per course? Is the student/instructor ratio generally smaller?

It's been my experience at the graduate level, that many of my masters classes have been combo courses with undergrads. Same syllabus (both courses listed at the top), same readings, same projects, same tests. Not all of them mind you, but enough. Of course I am talking education courses here, so I'll keep that in mind. BUT my son is in a five year program at his school (BS/MS in math) and he's mentioned the same thing. The program I've applied to for my next adventure mentions that several of the courses have two numbers -- same description, but an undergrad and a graduate level numbering system.

Just wondering what others have experienced.

 

With cost, yes graduate courses are more money. I am planning to start my graduate degree and it will cost me 1450 per class. This is way more than my undergraduate credit which was about 500 per class at the most. I don't know the diffculty in classes because I have not started taking classes at the graduate level yet.

 

My experience at the B&M level is that graduate school generally is and perhaps should be a lot more generative than the undergraduate level. In college I expected to be tested, but in graduate school I expect to be demonstrating what I know in research and writing, hopefully far beyond a pass/fail in a course exam. Professional schools must inculcate specific knowledge and test by measurable standards, and certainly graduate classes need to be well-organized. But I worry that we are in danger of reducing graduate education to college-plus, simply because in the marketplace the bachelor's degree is what the high school diploma once was, and now the master's is what the bachelor's once was.

 

I need to rephrase the question about cost. I do know it cost more because I've been in several and researched many.

So my poorly worded question above should be: Why does a graduate course cost more than an undergrad course?

 

Several factors can come into play. At many universities, undergraduate and graduate tuition is the same; however, my experience (especially at private universities) is that graduate school tuition is higher. Graduate courses tend to have fewer students per professor. At many institutions, graduate courses that are required for one's degree are offered, even if there are few students enrolled in the class, while undergraduate sections that fail to meet minimum enrollment are cancelled. Graduate students generally have access to greater amounts of faculty time and university equipment and resources than undergraduates.

None of the graduate courses that I took at three universities were "combo" courses, but I am aware that many such courses do exist. Some masters programs allow student to transfer a few units of upper division work into the graduate program, while others open up some of their first-year master courses to undergrads.

 

Thanks Dr. Pina. I had figured that there would be a smaller student to instructor ratio, but I hadn't thought about the fact that fewer classes would be cancelled.

 

Actually, what a product/service costs to produce/render does not necessarily have anything to do with the price. While the business that produces/renders a product/service naturally hopes that they can sell at a price greater than their costs, what does determine price is what the market will bear. Basically, then, since the master's degree has a greater economic value in the marketplace than the bachelor's degree, one should be willing to pay more tuition for the master's degree than for the bachelor's degree.

 

Here's a History "Combo" course recently taken; requirements for undergrad and grads:

TSARIST RUSSIA
Outside reading (other than textbook, from professors stated reading list)
undergrads 1800 pgs.
grads 2400 pgs. minimum

six reports,(critical reviews) from above readings due each week
undergrads 3 pages
grads 4 pages

Grading applies to both
Two Quizzes 25% each Final exam 30%
Grading scale
A 94 to 100
B 86 to 93
C 74 to 85
D 65 to 73
F Below 65
For Graduate credit a higer standard of assessment is used. Except that an "F" is given for a grade below 74

cost $840.00 and this, as we all know can vary!
However most grad classes are smaller and much more specialized, like Tony said, very few if ever are canceled, I have seen some "Combo classes have 30-40 students and the following semester end up across the hall (with or without the same professor) and only have 4-6 students in a much more relaxed atmosphere...but not the work load. One thing I have noticed is most proff's treat grad students with a bit more respect,
as if saying " Hey we share like interests...you like what I have a lifelong passion about" while at the same time do their best to make the constant eye-rolling class interupter out to be the class buffoon.
Most proff's recognize grad students as being serious about things because a good grad student will keep constant eye contact; not argue, but ask pertinent questions, and above all, not found to be constantly "fiddling" with his or her shoe laces.

In a nut shell, Grad classes are harder ( work load) some will grade your work to a higher standard ( but not always, they just have more work to grade hahahaha!) And, they doooo cost more! Jump in; very rewarding!
Gavin