Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in Education

This article is the first in a series of papers dedicated to the career and educational trajectories of recent Master’s graduates in Russia. The research focuses on the specifics of educational transitions from Bachelor’s to Master’s degrees and is based on administrative data for Russia (Monitoring...

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Main Authors: K. V. Rozhkova, S. Yu. Roshchin, P. V. Travkin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Moscow Polytechnic University 2025-05-01
Series:Высшее образование в России
Subjects:
Online Access:https://vovr.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5504
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author K. V. Rozhkova
S. Yu. Roshchin
P. V. Travkin
author_facet K. V. Rozhkova
S. Yu. Roshchin
P. V. Travkin
author_sort K. V. Rozhkova
collection DOAJ
description This article is the first in a series of papers dedicated to the career and educational trajectories of recent Master’s graduates in Russia. The research focuses on the specifics of educational transitions from Bachelor’s to Master’s degrees and is based on administrative data for Russia (Monitoring of Graduate Employment), which covers all university graduates in the country. The data show that 66% of Master’s graduates are recent Bachelor’s graduates who have continued their studies within five years of their previous education. 36% of full-time bachelor’s graduates enter a master’s programme in the first few years after graduation, and 93% of them do not take a break from their studies. About a quarter of continuing Bachelor’s graduates change their field of study at Master’s level. Changing university or region is much less common, although part-time bachelor graduates and those who took a break between bachelor and master are more likely to do so. A series of probit regressions were used to identify characteristics associated with continuing on to a Master’s degree, as well as changing field of study, university or region of study when moving from undergraduate to postgraduate study. The results show that graduates in technical and scientific fields, who studied full-time at more selective universities and who have high levels of academic achievement, are more likely to continue their studies at Master’s level. The more time elapses after a Bachelor’s degree, the more likely Master’s students are to change their educational trajectory, including their field of study, university, and region of study. Honours graduates from selective Bachelor programmes are less likely than others to change their educational trajectory. The specificity of educational transitions allows us to identify several segments of Master’s education (the same educational pathway as Bachelor’s and ‘basic education’), which may lead to different labour market outcomes of graduates
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series Высшее образование в России
spelling doaj-art-062f570726cb42f8a284da52a7d3282e2025-08-20T03:56:09ZengMoscow Polytechnic UniversityВысшее образование в России0869-36172072-04592025-05-0134493210.31992/0869-3617-2025-34-4-9-322551Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in EducationK. V. Rozhkova0S. Yu. Roshchin1P. V. Travkin2National Research University Higher School of EconomicsNational Research University Higher School of EconomicsNational Research University Higher School of EconomicsThis article is the first in a series of papers dedicated to the career and educational trajectories of recent Master’s graduates in Russia. The research focuses on the specifics of educational transitions from Bachelor’s to Master’s degrees and is based on administrative data for Russia (Monitoring of Graduate Employment), which covers all university graduates in the country. The data show that 66% of Master’s graduates are recent Bachelor’s graduates who have continued their studies within five years of their previous education. 36% of full-time bachelor’s graduates enter a master’s programme in the first few years after graduation, and 93% of them do not take a break from their studies. About a quarter of continuing Bachelor’s graduates change their field of study at Master’s level. Changing university or region is much less common, although part-time bachelor graduates and those who took a break between bachelor and master are more likely to do so. A series of probit regressions were used to identify characteristics associated with continuing on to a Master’s degree, as well as changing field of study, university or region of study when moving from undergraduate to postgraduate study. The results show that graduates in technical and scientific fields, who studied full-time at more selective universities and who have high levels of academic achievement, are more likely to continue their studies at Master’s level. The more time elapses after a Bachelor’s degree, the more likely Master’s students are to change their educational trajectory, including their field of study, university, and region of study. Honours graduates from selective Bachelor programmes are less likely than others to change their educational trajectory. The specificity of educational transitions allows us to identify several segments of Master’s education (the same educational pathway as Bachelor’s and ‘basic education’), which may lead to different labour market outcomes of graduateshttps://vovr.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5504master’s degreegraduate labour marketeducational trajectorieschanging educa- tional trajectories
spellingShingle K. V. Rozhkova
S. Yu. Roshchin
P. V. Travkin
Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in Education
Высшее образование в России
master’s degree
graduate labour market
educational trajectories
changing educa- tional trajectories
title Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in Education
title_full Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in Education
title_fullStr Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in Education
title_full_unstemmed Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in Education
title_short Master’s Degree in Russia: “The Garden of Forking Paths” in Education
title_sort master s degree in russia the garden of forking paths in education
topic master’s degree
graduate labour market
educational trajectories
changing educa- tional trajectories
url https://vovr.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5504
work_keys_str_mv AT kvrozhkova mastersdegreeinrussiathegardenofforkingpathsineducation
AT syuroshchin mastersdegreeinrussiathegardenofforkingpathsineducation
AT pvtravkin mastersdegreeinrussiathegardenofforkingpathsineducation