Meaning & use
grad student
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Meaning
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A student at a university who is working toward a degree higher than a bachelor's, such as a master's or a doctorate.
Grammar: Countable: say a grad student or grad students; the plural adds -s. It is a fixed two-word phrase.
Patterns
- a grad student in something
- be a grad student
- grad student housing
- grad student funding
She's a grad student in chemistry, working on her PhD.
My brother was a grad student for six years before he finished.
The university offers cheap housing for grad students.
Word forms
| plural | grad students |
|---|
Common combinations
- grad student in (a subject)
- He's a grad student in economics at Yale.
- grad student housing
- Grad student housing is on the north side of campus.
- grad student funding
- The department increased grad student funding this year.
- a grad student at (a university)
- She's a grad student at Stanford.
Synonyms and how they differ
- graduate student
- The full, more formal term; use it in writing or when you want to be precise, while grad student is common in everyday speech.
- postgraduate
- Common in British English and often used for the period of study rather than the person; in the US, grad student is the usual everyday term.
Word family
- grad school noun
- A school or program for study after a bachelor's degree.
- undergrad noun
- Informal for an undergraduate, a student studying for a bachelor's degree.
Commonly confused: grad student or undergrad?
grad student vs undergrad
An undergrad is studying for a first degree (bachelor's), while a grad student already has a bachelor's and is working toward a master's or doctorate.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'grad student' correctly?
Choose one answer.
We say a grad student in a subject, so 'in biology' is correct. 'Of,' 'for,' and 'on' are not used in this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “grad student”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.