Are graduate students more liberal?

@laylomo (165)
United States
November 16, 2007 1:22am CST
Studies going back over half a century (even as recent as 2002 by the University of California, Los Angeles) show that attending college has a big impact on political attitudes, usually making them more liberal. College students are more liberal than the population generally, and students at the most prestigious or selective are most liberal of all. Moreover, the longer the student stays in college, the more liberal they are, with seniors more liberal than freshmen and graduate students more liberal than undergraduates. Students studying social sciences tend to be more liberal. How long the liberalizing effect on college persists depends on a number of factors. One study found that former college students still described themselves as more liberal than their parents seven years after graduation. Another study found that students who changed in college from begin conservative to being liberal tended to maintain that liberalism for at least twenty years if they acquired, after graduation, liberal friends and spouses. College graduates who go on to get a postgraduate degree - such as law degree or Ph.D.- tend to become more liberal than those who stop with just a B.A. degree. A scholar who tracked students graduating from college in 1969 found that those who had taken part in protests remained very liberal well in the 1980s, while non-protesters became somewhat more conservative over the years. This is contrary to the idea that the young are more liberal but grow increasingly conservative as they grow older. So the purpose of this discussion is more like a poll: 1. Describe your political affiliation (either conservative or liberal) 2. Are you a college graduate? When did you graduate? If not a college graduate, what was your highest education (high school, vocational college, etc)? 3. If yes to 2, then what did you major in field? What is your highest degree (B.A, Ph.D., etc)?
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