Traditionally, undergraduate and graduate classes at Cabrini are held separately. The question has been raised if combining some classes between graduate students and undergraduate students would be a good idea.
Cabrini offers more than 30 majors for undergraduate students and currently offers three different graduate programs including a masters in education, leadership and accounting.
Teresa Bickley, a current graduate student and graduate assistant at Cabrini, is studying to receive her master’s degree in education. In the past, Bickley took a graduate level course that had graduate students and undergraduate students combined. She felt that taking the combined course was difficult because the professor gave the graduate students and undergraduates different syllabi but overall she felt that the combined course definitely helped prepare her for graduate school.
“Combining graduates and undergraduates for classes at Cabrini would be beneficial to help out undergrads to see what they are getting into and it would provide a mentorship,” Bickley said.
Also, Bickley said that even if students are not planning on going onto graduate school, integrating the classes would help students push more towards their educational goals.
Some undergraduate students at Cabrini have also had the opportunity to take a course with some graduate students mixed in for various reasons.
Undergraduate student and current a double major in secondary education and English with a minor in Spanish, Sarah Davis said, “Ideally I would love to continue on for a masters or even a doctorate if plausible.”
Davis has had a few courses at Cabrini where a few graduate students were mixed into the classroom. She said that for the most part she liked the structure of the classroom. Davis said that having a few graduate students in her class has made her think more about her future and the possibility of graduate school.
“I think it is quite comforting knowing that it [graduate school] is attainable and it is realistic because any- time there is that next step it is a little intimidating about wether it is doable or not but to interact with somebody in your class that is doing it it makes it seem less daunting,” Davis said.
Terra McHenry, a current senior at Cabrini, has also had some courses where graduate students were mixed in with undergraduate students.
“I think that putting graduate and undergraduate students in the same classroom provides great opportunities for us to learn from each other,” McHenry said.
McHenry would like to pursue a graduate degree eventually and use the exposure of mixed classes as a benefit.
“I think that undergrads might be intimidated at first to see that they are taking classes with graduate students but at the end of the day we are obtaining the same education, which makes us equals in the classroom,” McHenry said.
As Cabrini continues to grow and expand Davis, hopes we will see more graduate and undergraduate interactions.
