The average master's candidate is now a working woman in her 30s who goes to school part time. As employers' needs are transformed by technology and by the global economy, graduate schools are finding innovative ways to keep their student ''market'' competitive. Because so many business deals and legal cases of all kinds now cross borders, law schools are routinely exposing students to international law. Library schools are preparing students for high-paying jobs in business intelligence, computer network design, and software development. So engineering schools are launching distance programs that students can take part time over the Internet.
Employers often foot the bill.
Indeed, it's now possible for the happily employed to pursue a distance degree in any number of disciplines. Enrollment in Walden's five Ph.D. and two master's programs has grown about 60 percent since 1995, to 1,300 students. With educational opportunities evolving so rapidly, the choice of a graduate program requires introspection and considerable research. Even people entering medicine or law, whose need for a degree is obvious, face new decisions about what studies to undertake to enhance their careers. These programs prepare doctors to become involved in hospital or HMO management, or to create their own health care companies.