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The paper examines worldwide patterns of operations of graduate education using 40 countries’ data on advanced education focusing on contexts, inputs, processes and outcomes of graduate education with a view to deriving sets of national policies in advanced educatFinal Word Formation for the Philippines. In all, 10 variables were used as multivariate inputs to a cluster analysis algorithm that aims to cluster countries in terms of a 10 x10 similarity matrix with a hierarchical cluster method. Data per variable needed in the cluster analysis were obtained from the net and confirmed through e-mail communication with key informants in at least 20 of the 40 countries identified. Results revealed that developing countries’ graduate education differed from the graduate education of developed and less developed countries in terms of : contexts (mainly full-time or part-time, external support to graduate education), inputs (admission standards, controls), process (academic advising, research focus, graduate teaching, quality assurance mechanisms), and outcomes (employment of Ph.D.’s, indicative economic contributions of Ph.D.’s). On the basis of the hierarchical cluster analysis performed, policy recommendations are given to enhance the delivery of graduate education in the Philippines and to sharpen its contribution to national development.

Key words - cluster analysis, hierarchical method, graduate education, systems analysis, policy framework