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Gunnar, Chris et al, What should never be forgotten in the discussion about master-level education irrespective of whether we are referring to a thesis-based or project-based degree is that a large segment of university education in the USA is market driven. This may not be case in many other countries, at least not to the extent that it is in the USA. Harvard, Yale and Princeton may be exemplars of higher education at its best but we must not ignore institutions such as the University of Phoenix, for example. It is a corporation established to meet a market need. Nothing more. It has no full-time faculty nor does it have a research mandate. It has no desire to be an Œivory tower.¹ Yet it is huge and growing at a rapid rate. In fact, it just recently gave (for a princely sum) its name to the new football stadium in Phoenix. And degree mills such as this are becoming common in the USA. Why? Because there is a market for graduate degrees, especially those that can be acquired easily and conveniently. And what does this have to do with MAs and MFAs and even PhDs? Because this phenomenon is putting pressure on traditional universities to provide a similar product. That pressure is coming principally from parents and students. Their justification is valid. Tuition at many universities has become extremely high and the question of return on investment raises its ugly head. Parents and students alike are asking a very pragmatic question: how will this investment of $100,000 for a degree transfer into a job upon graduation? For traditional universities this question is somewhat alien; to the new universities like the University of Phoenix the question is a no brainer. Master¹s degrees and PhDs serve only one purpose: getting a better job. The ivy-league universities are immune to this shift but not so many state universities. We at Arizona State University (where I work) are next door to the University of Phoenix and face this unfair comparison everyday, especially from elected officials of the State of Arizona. Many wonder why ASU can¹t be more like the University of Phoenix‹no research, no faculty, no travel, no conferences? This is a sobering reality, indeed. Jacques Giard, PhD Director and Professor Cross-College Programs BA/MSD/PhD College of Design Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287-2105 P 480.965.1371 F 480.965.9656