Many modern university graduates are pondering the question of whether master's programs are required after undergraduate studies. Indeed, this is a serious question, because the young man has a choice: continue his education at another level of higher education or look for work.
We will try to answer this question.
What is a magistracy?
Before you solve the problem of whether you need a master's program after undergraduate, you need to figure out what it is.
This type of training arose in our country relatively recently. It appeared after Russia adopted a two-stage system of higher education, which has long existed in the Western world. In this system, higher education is divided, as it were, into two links: a bachelor's degree, which involves practical training in professional skills, and a master's degree, which is a higher stage in the development of professional mastery.
Graduate studies are completed by defending a master's thesis and obtaining the first degree.
Second stage of higher education
It would seem that with this approach it is very simple to solve the problem of whether a master's degree is needed after undergraduate studies. “Of course, she is needed,” any school graduate or parent will think.
However, this innovation has a lot of pitfalls, which we will consider a little later.
Master as an innovation in recent years
It just so happened that the importance of graduate education for the Western system of higher education is much greater than for ours.
This happened because in Russia there was always a different system of higher education, which suggested the following levels: primary, secondary, secondary vocational and higher. There was also the possibility of obtaining academic degrees: candidate and doctor of sciences.
At the present stage, these two systems have been preserved in the Russian Federation; because of this, higher education seems to be divided into two halves: undergraduate and graduate. It turns out that an ordinary specialist who spent exactly 5 years in the university is equal to a master who wrote an entire dissertation.
Therefore, until now, experts cannot unambiguously give an answer to the question of whether a master's degree is needed after undergraduate studies in Russia? It is needed, because a university graduate already has not one, but two diplomas of higher education, but employers do not pay particular attention to what kind of higher education their employee has: a bachelor's or a master's degree.
What prospects are open to the graduate?
First of all, graduates of the school are wondering what will bring them such a two-stage education at the university.
Therefore, they immediately decide for themselves whether to go to graduate school after undergraduate or not.
Consider these prospects in more detail.
Theoretically, the magistracy makes it possible to apply for a higher educational status. Therefore, a person with a master's degree can look for a more prestigious job.
However, as practice shows, employers are often just interested in higher education and the specialty indicated in the diploma. He generally does not care who comes to him: specialist, bachelor or master.
At the same time, the magistracy makes it possible to modify your professional path. Suppose a young man graduated from a bachelor's degree in management. But he enters the magistracy specializing in journalism. Having passed an additional exam, he can get a second higher education in 2 years and then work in that specialty, which he will choose.
Another prospect that attracts young people who are considering whether a master's degree is necessary after undergraduate studies is the opportunity to engage in teaching. But more about this in the next paragraph.
Master for Teaching
In the West, this level of higher education is a guarantee that the graduate will work in an educational institution: college or university. He may also be a junior research fellow.
In our country, such a prospect exists, rather, theoretically than practically.
This is due to the fact that in Russia it is now possible to obtain three degrees: a master's degree, a candidate of science, and a doctor of science.
Candidates and doctors of science work mainly in universities, doctors are valued more, but there are fewer of them. There is a small percentage of teachers who have either complete higher education on the principle of specialty, or a master's degree.
However, there are very few such teachers (about 8% of the total number of teaching staff) and their position in universities is the most unenviable: they have the most workloads and the lowest salaries.
Therefore, in our country, in order to teach at a university and not be afraid of a possible reduction, you need to have a degree not of a master, but a candidate of science.
And for this you need to go to graduate school and go through the difficult procedure of defending a dissertation. The requirements for it are more stringent than for the master's work.
Features of modern master
We note right away that learning is always a good thing, but learning should be for the benefit of the person, and not to the detriment of his health or financial situation.
Therefore, before deciding for oneself whether one should go to a magistracy after undergraduate studies, a young man must correlate his desires with his abilities.
If he loves to study, studies at the university with pleasure and is ready to spend another two years of his life to gain new knowledge, learn new skills, then his choice is a master's program.
If he barely reached 4 years of undergraduate studies, went to classes every time and dreamed not about knowledge, but about a diploma as a document on education, then he certainly should not stay at the university for another 2 years with vague prospects for their future professional activities.
As we noted above, master's degree in modern conditions is something like a small plus sign in a biography. To be more precise, this is evidence that a person has diligently “gnawed at the granite of science” for the sake of his future success. He rationally chose another professional easier for himself or improved his knowledge in the old field, he worked day and night. However, the magistracy does not give any guarantees for future prestigious employment.
For example, we ask ourselves if an economist needs a master's degree after undergraduate studies.
Perhaps another diploma of higher education will come in handy. However, it is obvious that a young man who graduated from a bachelor's degree and entered a specific position as an economist in a small enterprise after two years will gain more theoretical and practical experience than someone who entered full-time magistracy and spent 2 more years at the university.
Forms of training
Note the fact that the forms of study in the magistracy are the same as in the undergraduate.
There is the possibility of full-time, distance learning. Distance learning lasts two and a half years, full-time - two years. In the diploma of education, the form of training is not yet indicated, although soon the Ministry of Education intends to indicate such a form.
Anyone who decides whether to graduate after undergraduate, and plans to work and study at the same time, should know that the number of classroom studies in the magistracy is large. Often, universities because of the lack of classrooms transfer classes of undergraduates right up to the 3rd shift, which starts at about 5 pm and ends late in the evening.
The forms of control are the same as in the undergraduate program: accounting for current performance, tests, exams, for correspondence students - tests, etc.
Number of budget places for undergraduates
Also, young people who dream of continuing their education should be aware of such a tendency in recent years as a reduction in the number of budget places in universities for undergraduates. Typically, the number of such places is equal to a quarter of the graduating bachelors.
If the applicant does not enter a budget place, then he or his parents will have to pay for tuition from their own pockets. At the same time, the prices for training in a magistracy are much higher than for undergraduate studies.
Partly because of this, the flow of people who want to study is not so great. It turns out that many young people answer negatively to the question of whether to enter the magistracy after undergraduate studies.
This, of course, does not mean that studies at this level of higher education should be abandoned altogether. However, it is necessary to carefully evaluate both your strengths and your capabilities.
What to do?
In general, any young man who is trying to solve such a serious question for himself as “Do I need to study at the magistracy after undergraduate studies?” Can advise the following.
First, weigh the pros and cons of your possible training. To think about whether his family or himself has a material opportunity to receive such an education. Indeed, in fact, it will be very difficult to work during these 2 years. Will such a student be able to provide himself financially? Will he be able to find means for his maintenance?
Secondly, to think about whether there are budget places for such a level of training or will you have to look for your own financial resources?
Thirdly, is there an opportunity to enter a magistracy in a new specialty? For example, we ask ourselves whether a lawyer needs a master's degree after undergraduate studies. Perhaps it is necessary if the lawyer enters magistracy in a new specialty, mastering the specialization of a criminalist or political scientist.
Can I drop out of graduate school?
This question is also often asked. Indeed, the number of students expelled at their own request from the magistracy is 2 times more than from undergraduate programs.
This is due to the fact that young people, having realized that, once in a magistracy, they continue to remain in the status of "student", decide to abandon their role that they are tired of and go into professional activity. Fortunately, they already have a diploma of higher education at the undergraduate level.
For example, does a postgraduate programmer need a programmer, a young man who is already a sought-after specialist in the modern labor market? Does he need another 2 years to study, when he can already work?
Of course, every young programmer must answer this question independently.
Is there an alternative to such training?
It should be noted that there is an alternative to such training today. This is the so-called professional retraining, allowing you to engage in a new type of activity.
The essence of such training, presented in the programs of most large and small universities in our country, is that a person who wants to get the right to engage in a new type of activity enters such a program and after a while receives a diploma.
The training is individual and group, however, there are less training hours, therefore, there are also few classrooms.
And the last question: does an accountant need a master's degree after undergraduate studies?
After all of the above, it’s easy to find the answer to this question. Yes, a master's degree may be useful to an accountant, but he still needs to try to find this type of training. In our country, even a person without a higher education, who simply completed accounting courses, can become an accountant. There is accounting in the framework of undergraduate studies, but a master's degree with such specialization is generally very difficult to find.
So, not all specialties in our country have this direction of higher education.
Thus, in this short article, we examined the question of what modern master's programs in Russia are. Of course, this direction of education has certain prospects, but so far this system is experiencing difficulties associated with the features of its implementation in the educational practice of our state.