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He then moved to New Haven and started Yale University's Environmental and Natural Resource Economics program, from which he graduated earning his Master of Philosophy degree in 2010.

Is the above sentence correct? Is it correct to write that someone graduated from a university's program? The reason why I phrased it that way is that I want to avoid repeating environmental and natural resource economics, likeso:

He then moved to New Haven and started Yale University's Environmental and Natural Resource Economics program. In 2010 he graduated from the university with his Master of Philosophy in environmental and natural resource economics.

John Smith
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    I think your title has a dis-Z's. – Hot Licks Sep 01 '19 at 12:58
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    Your question's sentence isn't the same as your example sentence. Your example sentence has no Z's. To do that, it would have to be something like, "He then moved to New Haven and started our son Jack's university's economics program." – Benjamin Harman Sep 01 '19 at 15:22
  • @Benjamin Harman : I already corrected the title in response to you comment. – John Smith Sep 01 '19 at 15:48
  • I see a different problem. It looks as though the guy founded a program and then enrolled in it and graduated from it. To solve this problem, I propose: *He then moved to New Haven and enrolled in Yale University's Environmental and Natural Resource Economics program, from which he graduated with a Master of Philosophy degree in 2010. – aparente001 Sep 02 '19 at 03:10

1 Answers1

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Yes, I think your first sentence is fine. If you are still unsure you could substitute "course" for "program" which may sound better to some listeners.

If you look at American degree prospectuses such as this one from Harvard you see they use the word "program" whilst a similar page from Oxford University uses "course" . This tends to be a US V Br English thing, but I'm sure that you could find counterexamples on both sides.

Another tweak could be to say :

He then moved to New Haven and started Yale University's Environmental and Natural Resource Economics course, from which he graduated with a Master of Philosophy degree in 2010.

Peter Jennings
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    Please add supporting references. Unsupported answers on ELU tend to come across as (and sadly often are) mere opinion. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 01 '19 at 15:51
  • @EdwinAshworth mea culpa, is that better? – Peter Jennings Sep 01 '19 at 17:28
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    Does one graduate from a program/course or from a school/university?? – Jim Sep 01 '19 at 17:50
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    I've always thought you graduated from a university, but others might differ. – Peter Jennings Sep 01 '19 at 18:16
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    No, as Jim and Peter imply. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 01 '19 at 19:00
  • @Peter Jennings : Would you clarify your opinion whether one graduate from a program/course? Does your last comment contradict your earlier answer? – John Smith Sep 02 '19 at 19:07
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    @JerzyBrzóska Since it is the university / college that awards the degree, not the department or course, I have always said that one graduated from university. However I agree that my initial answer does imply that he graduated from a course, but that's the price you pay for trying to avoid the repetition and keep it as one sentence. Maybe it would be better to say "He attended the Environmental and Natural Resource Economics course at Yale University at New Haven from which he graduated with a Master of Philosophy degree in 2010." But this leaves out the "he moved" phrase. – Peter Jennings Sep 02 '19 at 19:35
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    You could say: “He then moved to New Haven and started the Environmental and Natural Resource Economics course at Yale University graduating with a Master of Philosophy degree in 2010.” – Jim Sep 02 '19 at 21:15