Grad School for Good

With the economy slumping, grad schools are looking more and more attractive. The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, in one example, received over a hundred more applications for grad spots this year than it did in 2008. Jobless college grads don't see any reason to wait around unemployed when they could get busy pursuing that master's degree.

More education is always good, though I just hope all these people won't study finance.

Or come to think of it, maybe we really do need people who know what they're doing in finance.

Though I'm sure Bernie Madoff knew a thing or two about how money works, and look where that got us.

So perhaps they should study ethics, instead.

Which brings me to my topic, which is the news that Idealist.org is hosting a series of  “Graduate Degree Fairs for the Public Good” over the next two months. Registration for the 17 fairs around the country is free, and participants will get a chance to talk to up to 200 representatives of grad programs in fields that actually make the world better instead of just richer. Options in nonprofit management, social work and public policy, to name a few, will be on display.

Interested? See the list below to find out where you might catch one (with number of schools presenting, as of now, in parentheses):

Sept. 10 - New York, N.Y. (200)
Sept. 14 - Providence, R.I. (75)
Sept. 15 - Boston, Mass. (175)
Sept. 17 - Toronto, Ontario (50)
Sept. 21 - Washington, D.C. (160)
Sept. 23 - Pittsburgh, Pa. (50)
Oct. 5 - Denver, Colo. (60)
Oct. 7 - Minneapolis, Minn. (50)
Oct. 12 - Chicago, Ill. (110)
Oct. 13 - Phoenix (Tempe), Ariz. (50)
Oct. 15 - San Francisco, Calif. (120)
Oct. 19 - Los Angeles, Calif. (120)
Oct. 20 - Seattle, Wash. (90)
Oct. 22 - Portland, Ore. (65)
Oct. 29 - New Orleans, La. (60)
Oct. 30 - Atlanta, Ga. (90)
Nov. 3 - Virginia Beach, Va. (30)

Register for free on the Idealist grad fairs page. And make sure to remember your necktie and your heart, pinned to your sleeve.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng