Reimagining graduate education from start to finish and beyond

Welcome to a new semester at ASU! This year, the Graduate College theme is “Solving global grand challenges.” When we consider global issues like climate change, healthcare, education and world hunger, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by their scale. Conventional thinking might suggest that individual efforts are insufficient to make a difference. But here at ASU, we reject that notion. I firmly believe in the remarkable potential each of you holds to create meaningful change in the world. I’m continually inspired by our students who are not intimidated by the impossible and believe that even a small contribution can play a more significant role in solving the challenges of our time.

As the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate College, my mission has been to infuse graduate education with the spirit of the ASU Charter—embracing inclusivity and striving for excellence. Reimagining graduate education is a bold endeavor that demands a comprehensive overhaul of traditional approaches. It involves reshaping admissions, curriculum design, classrooms, culminating experiences, and lifelong engagement with the university.

It involves fundamentally altering traditional approaches to higher learning to better prepare faculty, students and graduates for the complexities of the modern world. 

The vision includes leveraging cutting-edge technology, prioritizing equity at all levels, promoting lifelong learning, and taking responsibility for the communities we serve. To meet this challenge, universities must change and thus reimagine the whole of graduate education. We aim to equip faculty, students, and alums with the skills and perspectives needed to navigate and lead in today’s global complex world.

To illustrate this vision, I will share some of my ideas by expanding on several “what if” scenarios over the coming months:

• What if graduate students could design a master’s degree based on two or more topics that they want to study?
• What if students could take one, two or three years off before returning to complete their accelerated master’s degree?
• What if graduate students could take degree programs designed for the local economy? What if graduate students could access customized knowledge to acquire new skills or for their careers and then translate this into a credentialed certificate or credit towards a degree?
• What if graduate students could pursue flexible programs designed to be online with intentional immersion components? 
• What if graduate students could earn admission into a master’s program via targeted courses as on-ramps?
• What if graduate students could be automatically admitted into ASU master’s degrees after earning their ASU bachelor’s degree?
• What if graduate students don’t just apply to one degree program but rather are also considered for one or more other master’s degrees?
• What if graduate students could collaborate with their peers on research, earning degrees through team research?
• What if graduate students could engage with the Graduate College well beyond their time as students and influence the next generation of scholars and professionals?

I invite you to engage with these questions and share your perspectives. I hope to stimulate you with new ideas—and I hope even more that you will reciprocate with ideas I haven’t considered. With reimagined graduate education, we meet faculty, staff, students, and alums where they are, address their needs and help direct them to where they want to go. 

Here’s to a transformative semester ahead!

Elizabeth Wentz
Vice Provost and Dean, Graduate College