The unprecedented expansion of master’s degrees in the last 15-20 years is one of the most remarkable developments in European higher education. As the focus, character and outcomes of master’s level education in Europe are becoming ever more divergent and problematic, including in terms of career prospects for master’s graduates, the Yehuda Elkana Center on 26 September 2018 invited rectors, deans, senior managers and policy-makers from Europe and U.S. to reflect on the current state of these developments in a comparative perspective.
This workshop, sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation, looked at academic, professional, pedagogic and policy questions and discussed the existing main models and challenges master’s degree programs face at higher education institutions. Discussions were informed by a preliminary report on the state of master’s education on the continent prepared by the Elkana Center, as well as by research undertaken by other organizations and individual institutional experiences.
The workshop was the first step in a larger project that aims to identify and put forward new directions of action within higher education institutions and in the public policy arena regarding master’s education.
Researchers from CEU’s Yehuda Elkana Center for Higher Education also conducted a survey to better understand the reasons why individuals enroll in master degree programs.