As upperclassmen begin their trek toward graduation, a common question begins to surface around every corner: So what about grad school? Eastern offers students over 30 programs to choose from, both at the Cheney and the Riverpoint campuses.

In regards to the students applying and enrolling in EWU graduate programs each year, Colin Ormsby, Ph.D., vice provost of Eastern’s Academic Planning, Graduate Programs, Grants and Institutional Research department, said the numbers have “increased by a couple hundred applicants” but the enrollments have “declined and are now flat.” These enrolled grad students still make up 10 percent of the university population.

According to Orsmby, Eastern is the third largest Washington public institution granting these graduate degrees.

EWU’s more popular programs have been the Health Sciences, according to Orsmby, “But biology, physical therapy, occupational therapy and creative writing are all very popular.”

As a student, most thoughts about grad school start with the curiosity of what it takes to apply and then be accepted. Though not all programs require taking an extensive exam, such as the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), students must at minimum have a 3.0 GPA and satisfy all undergraduate requirements to be considered, according to Orsmby.

Orsmby said that different programs draw students from around the nation. “Creative writing draws from around the country and physical therapy and occupational therapy draw from several neighboring states,” said Orsmby.

According to the Council of Graduate Schools, the 2011-2012 academic year saw an increase in graduate school enrollments within the U.S.

“Total graduate enrollment was nearly 1.74 million students in fall 2012,” according to the Council of Graduate Schools.

The council goes on to say, “Among survey respondents, first-time graduate enrollment rose 7.4 percent for Hispanic/Latinos, 5.7 percent for American Indians/Alaska Natives and 4.6 percent for Blacks/African Americans between fall 2011 and fall 2012.”

Orsmby said, “With the economy improving it will be interesting to see if the enrollments increase.”

While some students pursue another degree in the hopes of gaining a career, such as the health science students or Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) students, some students pursue them for enjoyment, according to Ormsby.

Orsmby said grad students on campus also have the ability to instruct courses, given that they are qualified. These are for specific subject-based programs such as the English rhetoric degree.

Other graduate students have the opportunities of conducting research for specific departments or other work in alignment with their programs.

“Do your research based on your interests, rather than what you think you will get a job in, reach out to the programs you are interested in, connect with them, visit them and see which will accommodate your needs and make you feel at home,” said Orsmby.