MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. In Russia, the reduction in the term of study in a master’s program to a year is necessary, first of all, in the IT industry, as it is very dynamic, Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, told TASS.
“Industries dictate demands here, it is obvious that the IT industry is the leader here, they have repeatedly requested to reduce the duration of master’s studies, making them more compact. <…> The IT sector is very dynamic, they enter the labor market very quickly and the demand is basically there. Therefore, a one-year master’s degree can become the norm there,” the minister said.
According to Falkov, it is necessary to assess basic education, which will determine the duration of study in the master’s program.
“Especially if this is a track: a person has received a higher education, worked in production for quite a long time, he needs to get in-depth professional knowledge in a narrow area of some kind – and he goes to a master’s program. As the experts themselves say, the Bauman Moscow State Technical University is the main is the leader. They say that one year is enough for a number of programs,” Falkov added.
He explained that for engineers, for example, a one-year master’s degree may be an option, but not the norm.
Falkov stated that in some specialties the term of study in the magistracy could be reduced to one year. At the same time, according to him, it is unacceptable to reduce this period in areas related to research activities, for example, in genetics and nuclear physics.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his February address to the Federal Assembly, proposed returning to the traditional system of training specialists with higher education, the training period for which would be from four to six years. He noted that if a profession requires additional training and narrow specialization, then it should be possible to continue education in a master’s or residency program.
