Masters for 5-year courses?
In a move that could render Greek universities more competitive compared to their foreign counterparts, the Ministry of Education yesterday unveiled a draft law under which graduates of five-year courses would end up with master’s degrees. Under the bill presented by a senior ministry official at a conference of university deans in Florina, students at the National Technical University of Athens and the Agricultural University – both of which have five-year courses – would automatically receive master of science degrees. This could provide local institutions with an edge over British universities, for example, where thousands of Greeks attend courses for four years for a master’s degree. The law will also reorganize the way Greek universities confer master’s degrees on graduates. A weighty criterion regarding the renewal of Greek postgraduate courses will be their economic viability. The bill will be presented to Parliament in the summer.
