The Council of Graduate Schools and financial services provider TIAA are launching a program to provide financial education to graduate students.
Thirty-four universities are developing financial education programs for master’s degree students and doctoral candidates through the Enhancing Student Financial Education program.
Research conducted by the two organizations shows that 60 percent of master’s students and 55 percent of doctoral candidates say they feel stressed about their finances, and 38 percent of masters students and 36 percent of doctoral candidates worry about meeting their monthly expenses.
The majority of students among the 13,000 surveyed said they have no financial education, and less than one-third is aware of any financial education programs available at their institutions. However, graduate students are at an optimal stage of life to receive financial education, as high-quality financial education can impact degree completion rates, address concerns about educational loan debt and help increase diversity in academia, say the two organizations.
When offered the choice, students say they want to learn about more complex and longer-term financial topics such as investing, selecting employee benefits and retirement planning, the survey says.