The Triangle Editorial Board would like to extend congratulations to the Earle Mack School of Law for their speedy rise to accreditation from the American Bar Association. While there was little doubt that the superb students and faculty of the law school would diligently work to build up the name of the law school, the dedicated leadership of Dean Roger Dennis played a major role in the rapid accreditation. It is particularly encouraging to see Drexel build its brand in a previously uncharted territory for the University. Already nationally known for engineering and business programs, Drexel in the past has had somewhat of a lackluster reputation in the liberal arts. An accredited law school is perhaps just what our University needed to boost a renaissance-type educational prerogative.
Our graduate studies programs are nicely rounded out by the ABA accredited J.D. program Earle Mack offers, which joins the LeBow College of Business’ MBA and the Drexel University College of Medicine’s M.D. along with the numerous other Ph.D. programs Drexel offers. Broadening Drexel’s educational offerings will broaden our collective student body, allowing for students of all types of disciplines with a variety of interests to unite under the badge of being a Drexel student.
For some students, the accreditation of Earle Mack offers the opportunity to pursue a J.D. here, but for all students, the recent news should spur — especially in seniors — serious considerations about grad schools. The stock-market may be yo-yo-ing, but the high unemployment rate is plateauing, signaling troubling times for the job prospects of recent and near-future graduates. Grad school may be a shrewd option to improve your skill-set and further your education while waiting out some more promising job numbers and student loan repayments.
A recent Georgetown study showed that a worker with a bachelor’s degree will typically earn $2.3 million over a lifetime while a student with a master’s degree will earn $2.7 million over a lifetime. The lifetime-income for students with doctoral-level degrees increases even further.
Graduate schools are becoming increasingly important for students in a hyper-competitive global job-market. The recent ABA accreditation of the law school is a big boon to draw in more students from across the nation, but also a boon to Drexel’s reputation overall. With the newly accredited law school right around the corner, maybe some of Drexel’s own pre-law undergraduates will more seriously consider with sticking around for another three years and a J.D.