Here's the thing about grad school: sometimes we go to grad school because we think it's what we should do. We can't let the "shoulds" drive us; "should" is the worst reason to incur educational debt. Instead, go to grad school because we want to, because it lies on the path to our intended career.
How do we find graduate programs? In the old days, before the advent of Google, there were print directories that people would refer to in order to find degree programs. Now, Peterson's, one of the publishers of those print directories, has its own online directory that we can use to find schools with pertinent graduate programs:
The Princeton Review, known for helping students with standardized testing, also has a grad school search tool:
One of the best directories, however, is that established by the Department of Education. The College Navigator doesn't advertise, so all schools are represented:
There are other ways to find out information about graduate schools. Finding organizations that pertain to our intended field of study can sometimes be helpful, as they may list graduate programs or other information about how to advance in the field. Organizations like the ones below can be found via a good Google search.
The website Masters in Communications contains a plethora of information on Communications and related disciplines.
When we created this Research Guide, we were looking for the most useful, most precise, least spammy resources we could find. As a result, there aren't 30 billion resources listed here. "But what about those other resources that Google found? Why aren't they listed?"
Some of them are scams, collecting our contact information but then not giving us any information. Some require us to log in. Some list only the top 40 programs -- but what does "top" mean, anyway? We decided to focus on a few resources that would hopefully yield the most useful information. If there is one we missed, however, let us know!