The purpose of this paper was to present a framework and information for discussing the role of graduate programs in the process of developing administrative staff as university professional staff and administrators. The discussion in this paper can be summarized as follows. First, the position of the graduate program in the growth process differs between those with a faculty background and those with an administrative background. For faculty members, the graduate program is a “prerequisite” for their on-the-job experience, while for administrators, it is a “supplement”. Second, the tasks to be performed by university professional staff and administrators may be broadly categorized into the coordination and realization of expert groups, their translation and expression, and understanding and respect, which are prerequisites for these tasks. In this case, it is assumed that the on-the-job experience will contribute to the coordination and realization, and the off-the-job experience will contribute to the translation, expression, and understanding and respect.
