Identifying and analyzing the missions of the graduate studies

The heterogeneity of the graduate student population, the diversity of their motivations and the variety of courses offered by universities increase the need to understand the reason for the existence of graduate education to ensure the quality and success of these courses. Thus, the overall purpose of this study was to identifying and analyzing the missions of the graduate sector. In this research, systematic review research method and qualitative content analysis approach were used to analyze the data. The statistical population is documents related to the field of higher education and graduate studies that are available using purposive sampling. By referring to books, articles and university websites, textual evidence related to the research question was collected until theoretical saturation was achieved. The process of qualitative data analysis was performed in three stages. Findings showed that in the graduate sector, educational missions include fostering critical thinkers, empowering people, offering distinctive disciplines and specializations that are compatible with growing diversity, leading the way in promoting, applying and maintaining knowledge and the formation of a dynamic and diverse community of students and faculty. Research missions include innovation and development of knowledge frontiers, the link between theory and practice, and providing the main engine for innovation. And social service missions included strengthening and enriching the academic environment, improving the quality of life, providing quality postgraduate education, Active participation in society and identifying and attracting prospective students. Considering that the mission statement identifies the main reason for the existence of the organization and sets the main and unique purpose for it, the findings of this study can be used as a basis for some policies in higher education. Therefore, if policy makers, planners and administrators of universities and higher education institutions are interested in improving and enhancing their graduate courses, it is necessary to pay proper attention to these factors.