EUA Survey Of Master Degrees In Europe - European University ...

9. Programmes leading to a master degree may have different orientations and various profilesin order to accommodate a diversity of individual, academic and labour market needs.Master degrees can be taken at universities and in some countries, in other higher educationinstitutions.The Dublin DescriptorsIn 2004, in the wake of Helsinki and Berlin, the Joint Quality Initiative developed criteria to determineat which point in their learning curve students might be judged to have attained a particular level.These level completion criteria, known as the Dublin Descriptors, specify the Master as follows:Qualifications that signify completion of the second cycle are awarded to students who:• have demonstrated knowledge and understanding that is founded upon and extends and/orenhances that typically associated with Bachelor’s level, and that provides a basis or opportunityfor originality in developing and/or applying ideas, often within a research context• can apply their knowledge and understanding, and problem solving abilities in new orunfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field ofstudy• have the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgementswith incomplete or limited information, but that include reflecting on social and ethicalresponsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgements• can communicate their conclusions, and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these, tospecialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously• have the learning skills to allow them to continue to study in a manner that may be largely selfdirectedor autonomous.In Bergen in 2005, ministers invoked these descriptors when they adopted ‘the overarchingframework for qualifications in the EHEA, comprising three cycles (including, within nationalcontexts, the possibility of intermediate qualifications), generic descriptors for each cycle based onlearning outcomes and competences, and credit ranges in the first and second cycles’. Two yearslater, in London, they insisted on the use of learning outcomes in curriculum design and studentcentredpedagogy.The conceptual apparatus evolved in the early years of the Bologna Process supports the architectureof qualifications in which the Master finds its place. The concepts and the framework are nowwidely accepted. This report will show that, notwithstanding these achievements, transparency andreadability have not yet been fully realised.15