'graduate-focused' is a compound of 'graduate' and the adjective 'focused'. 'Graduate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'graduatus' (from 'gradus'), where 'gradus' meant 'step' or 'degree'. 'Focused' comes from the verb 'focus', originally Latin 'focus' meaning 'hearth' and later used in English sense 'centre of attention'.

'graduate' developed in English from Medieval Latin/Modern Latin forms related to 'graduatus' and came to mean someone who has obtained a degree; 'focus' entered scientific and general English from Latin via Neo-Latin and French, and the participial adjective form 'focused' followed the common English pattern of using '-ed' to form adjectival uses. The compound 'graduate-focused' is a modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially, 'graduate' referred to the act of taking a step or degree (from Latin 'gradus'), and 'focus' originally meant 'hearth'; over time 'graduate' came to denote someone with an academic degree and 'focus' shifted to mean 'centre of attention' or 'concentration'. Together in modern usage 'graduate-focused' now means 'aimed at or emphasizing graduate-level people or matters.'