Pamela Felder, Ph.D. , Independent Scholar This commentary provides brief analysis of contextual issues based on Gumport’s (2016) perspectives on the causes for interdependence and strain in graduate education. Four challenges and opportunities identified include: uncertainty in external funding; increased competition for federal research funds; commercialization; and student concerns about the availability of career opportunities. Given the rapidly changing demographics in higher education and systemic exclusion regarding historically marginalized communities, consideration of racial and cultural experiences is paramount to the proliferation of graduate education, the communities it serves, and their future. Thus, a reexamination of the areas of interdependence and strain in graduate education calls for refocusing the ways race and culture intersect with these dynamics. Observations of key reports by The Commission for the Future of Graduate Education (201