The major goal of graduate education in speech communication is to advance knowledge about human communication through research and by training minds. Graduate education differs from undergraduate education because it emphasizes not only what we know, but how we come to know. Often, however, graduate education is just seen as being an extension of undergraduate study. Although the opposite sometimes occurs and too great demands are made upon beginning graduate students, usually an elitist attitude causes faculty to underestimate the importance of the Master's degree. Holders of an M.A. ought to understand the issues involved in the generation of knowledge, be able to read and criticize a research report, and be able and willing to contribute to the discipline. Most research reports submitted to professional journals, however, fail to demonstrate the significance and importance of the research, fail to match research design to the questions posed, and are badly written. A strategy of viewing graduate education as professional life, not simply a preparation for it, may solve some of these problems. For instance, having students prepare and try to publish a professional review of a recent basic textbook provides a substantive supplemental foundation in a content oriented course. A miniconvention serves a similar purpose. Teaching research methodology is a bit more difficult, but still involves recreating real situations. (JL)