Admissions to Graduate Studies: Selection Methods for Life and Natural Sciences Masters’ Programs at a European Research University

Abstract

As depicted in Figure 1, masters' programs in the Netherlands typically last one year (60 ECTS 1 points) in the social sciences and humanities, two years (120 ECTS points) in the life and natural sciences, and three years (180 ECTS points) in medical studies. A specific category of masters' programs-research masters' programs-was launched in 2003. These programs prepare students for a research career within and outside academia (Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders [NVAO], 2016). Three main features that distinguish research masters' from taught (or academic) masters' are: (1) their positioning toward research-intensive education (e.g., research internships typically constitute components of such masters' programs), ( 2) duration (two years and 120 ECTS credits instead of one year and 60 ECTS credits), and (3) selectiveness (Snijder, 2016). In this thesis, the empirical studies are conducted on students in research masters' programs. Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders. (2016). Specification of additional criteria for research master's programmes. https://www.nvao.net/files/attachments/.1255/Nadere_uitwerking_ aanvullende_criteria_onderzoeksmasters_30_mei_2016_EN_def_nieuwe_huisstijl.pdf Association of Universities in the Netherlands. (2021). Instroom nieuwe masterstudenten [Influx new masters' students]. https://vsnu.nl/instroom-master.html Association of Universities in the Netherlands. (2018, May 14 th ). Internationalization agenda for higher education.