A graduate is, in a general sense, any person who has earned a university degree. More specifically, in the academic world, it refers to a student who is studying for a masters or higher degree, having already earned their bachelor's degree. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term postgraduate is used instead.
"Bachelor's degree or higher", a phrase often used interchangeably with "graduate", is a category commonly used by the United States Census Bureau in measuring levels of educational attainment within the population. In 2003 27.2% of the population in the United States had an educational attainment described as "Bachelor's degree or higher," meaning that 27.2% of the population had either a Bachelor's or a higher degree.[1]