Graduate students are valuable and meaningful contributors to all aspects of KU: research, teaching, service, recruitment, and reputation.
Graduate students are engaged in vital research. It is in graduate school that new lines of inquiry are established. Graduate seminars and laboratory meetings offer precious opportunities for in-depth conversations about cutting-edge theories, methods, and applications - not only for graduate students, but for the faculty who work with them.
As GTAs and Instructors, graduate students are important partners in undergraduate education. Undergraduates often relate to teaching assistants more easily than they do to faculty. In fulfilling this intermediary role, graduate students offer a bridge between undergraduates and faculty and model a path forward in higher education.
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The current administration views graduate students as expensive because it costs more to train future scholars and teachers than to hire lecturers. Graduate education is a sound investment. KU has more than 50 nationally-ranked graduate programs. Our international reputation draws students from all over the world - currently, more than 1500 international graduate students, from 81 countries.
Graduate students, their work, skill, and intellectual energy, are critical to maintaining the university’s strong, scholarly profile. We stand in support of these essential workers in the academic mission of KU.