ADMISSION TRACKS TO MASTER’S PROGRAMS (CASE OF SOUTHERN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY)
A.V. Garmonova1,2, D.V. Shcheglova1,3, E.A. Opfer3, N.V. Andreichenko4, M.O. Plokhaya4
1Institute of Education, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
2University Partnership, HSE, Moscow, Russia
3Laboratory for University Development, Moscow, Russia
4Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Keywords: master’s studies in Russia, university admission strategies, promotion of master’s programs, master’s degree student profile, Southern Federal University
Abstract
The article examines the admission tracks of master’s students at the Southern Federal University (SFedU) in 2020 when Russian universities implemented the distant format of initial testing. The purpose of the study is to test hypotheses regarding the admission tracks to the master’s degree programs at SFedU and to analyze the most popular specialties in terms of admission strategies. Based on the admission data and a sociological survey of SFedU students, we outline the admission strategies according to the following criteria: break in study, change of university, moving to another city for bachelor’s studies, moving to another city for master’s studies. The study has shown the most and the least demanded areas of study and built up a potential master’s degree student profile. The master’s target audience could vary in age, strategy for selecting areas of study, and motives for enrollment. The hypothesis that the most popular track for master’s degree students is to continue their education at the same university without a break has not been confirmed. Admission strategies, including changing regions to get admission to a university, are typical of master’s students who choose unique programs. The study estimates that admission tracks outline more about the strong academic school these programs follow rather than target admission levels. We prove demand for individual educational routes among master’s students.
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