What is the value of graduate education? An economic analysis of Army Medical Department Graduate Programs

Current and forward-looking resource constraints within the federal health system and general health market are generating questions of fiscal or economic viability of a number of programs including graduate education. This article establishes a framework for assessing economic value among graduate health-related programs within the Army Medical Department. The findings of this analysis indicated that the programs evaluated in the study generate positive economic value based on a market-based valuation of extrinsic benefits compared to extrinsic costs for conducting graduate education within each of the programs. Suggestions for future research and policy application are also discussed.