Laurier, UW see surge in grad school applications during pandemic

Grad school applications have reached "record levels" at Wilfrid Laurier University so far this year.

Graham Mitchell, director of communications and issues management at the school, which has campuses in Waterloo and Brantford, noted applications have increased significantly and "have more than doubled since 2016."

"While applications are still being received and final numbers won't be available until later in the fall, both domestic and international graduate student applications have already reached record levels for the 2021/22 year," Mitchell said.

Down the street at the University of Waterloo, it's a similar story, with officials there reporting grad school applications overall are up 17 per cent compared to the average number of applications received in the last three years.

There's been "tremendous growth" in the last decade, said Jeff Casello, UW's associate vice-president of graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs. Students have been coming to study in fields the university is known for, like engineering and math, but they're also seeing a significant increase in grad students in health fields.

"Grad school is an interesting kind of market because when the economy is bad, our numbers tend to go up and when the economy is really good, of course, our numbers tend to weaken," he said.

"So with the slowdown in the economy and with the pandemic and a lack of opportunities professionally, I think many students who otherwise would be entering the workforce are looking at grad studies as a way to continue to be productive and gain skills but at the same time delay their need to look at finding a job."

Casello said the university has seen a 27 per cent increase in master's student applications while applications for PhDs has remained steady. They've also noticed more students opting for course-based master's study, rather than having a supervisor and writing a thesis.

Trend across province

It's a trend being seen elsewhere. Some programs at Western University in London have seen a 30 per cent increase in applications while University of Toronto's law school has seen applications go up 24 per cent.

Sangeet Chowfla, CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council, which oversees admissions testing for most of the world's graduate business schools, said the trend is consistent with past recessions.

"People are often in uncertain hiring situations and if graduate studies were a thought on the horizon, they gravitate toward doing them now," Chowfla told CBC London. 

"This is a good time to take some time out of their careers, invest in their education and come back when the economy is stronger."