Job Competencies and the Curriculum: An Inquiry into Emotional Intelligence in Graduate Professional Education

Empirical research has produced evidence suggesting that the ability to assess, regulate, and utilize emotions (i.e., emotional intelligence) is important to the performance of workers. Yet, few graduate professional program curriculums adequately address the emotional and interpersonal skills that prospective employers want most in their employees and that employees find most useful in their work. The results from this study showed that the potential for enhanced emotional capabilities could be improved in the traditional graduate classroom. Furthermore, findings revealed a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance.