Why Clark

At Clark, graduate education is about more than earning a degree. It’s about gaining the expertise, experiences, and perspective to make a meaningful impact.

Clark alumni are leading sustainability initiatives at major institutions, advancing groundbreaking scholarship at world-renowned research centers, and earning national recognition for work that drives social change. Whether your goal is to advance your career, deepen your knowledge, or create lasting impact, a Clark graduate degree prepares you to excel wherever your ambitions take you.

Margaret Wickens Pearce, M.A. ’95, Ph.D. ’98

Pearce, who studied in the Graduate School of Geography, is a cartographer who creates maps that center Indigenous peoples’ knowledge, history, and presence across North America. Working directly with Indigenous communities, her innovative approach to cartographic design and typography earned her a 2025 MacArthur Fellowship (the “genius grant”), which comes with an $800,000 unrestricted stipend.

“I feel a responsibility to use the skills and the dedication I have to make change wherever I can.”
Margaret Wickens Pearce, M.A. ’95, Ph.D. ’98

Umit Kurt, Ph.D ’16

Kurt became the second person to earn a Ph.D. in Armenian Genocide studies from Clark’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Rather than return to Turkey amid a worsening climate for scholars, he stayed in the U.S. and accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, continuing his research career on the global stage.

Suzanne Wood ’11, M.S. ’12

Wood earned her master’s in Environmental Science and Policy at Clark back when sustainability reporting was still rare among major companies. She’s now associate director of sustainability and campus services at UMass Chan Medical School, where she led the development of the school’s 2021–2026 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan and continues to expand ESG (environmental, social, governance) focused initiatives on campus.

“I think Clark really prepared me to have some of those hard discussions and also prepared me to mix theory with data-driven analysis.”
Suzanne Wood ’11, M.S. ’12

Rankings and recognition

AACSB International

The School of Business is AACSB-accredited, the highest standard of achievement for business education, earned by about 5% business schools worldwide.