Volume 3,Issue 7
Master's Degree Students in Engineering Academic and Professional Degrees Quality Comparison of Student Sources
Against the backdrop of rapid expansion in professional master’s programs, this study analyzes 48,834 engineering-related academic and professional master’s students from 19 universities between 2014 and 2017. Through comparative analysis of two dimensions quality of applicant composition and educational background, the findings reveal that while the overall quality of engineering-related professional master’s applicants remained stable, there was a slight decline. Moreover, compared with academic degree programs, engineering-related professional master’s applicants showed weaker quality overall. Vertical mobility among applicant groups from different universities became increasingly challenging, with non-“Double First-Class” universities experiencing a general decline in applicant quality. To promote coordinated development of both scale and quality in engineering-related professional master’s programs, the study proposes the following recommendations, strengthen quality monitoring and implement quality-based enrollment plan adjustments, explore and practice distinctive training models for specialized engineering master’s programs and enhance brand building to attract high-quality applicants actively.
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