Eliminating entrance exams for master's degrees, schools say 'general trend'

Master's degree award ceremony of University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - Photo: NHU QUYNH

By eliminating entrance exams, some say that schools are competing with each other by setting "loose and lenient" admission criteria and regulations to meet students' needs for higher degrees.

1-2 subjects not assessed

In 2024, some member schools of Ho Chi Minh City National University will apply for the first time the form of no entrance exam, only consideration for admission in master's degree admission. According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Tuyet Phuong - Head of the Graduate Training Department of the University of Natural Sciences (Ho Chi Minh City National University), this is the first time the school has applied the form of admission without entrance exam.

"The school no longer has entrance exams for basic subjects in postgraduate admissions, but only considers admission. This new admission method has many advantages, helping to increase the opportunity for candidates to apply. Candidates only need to complete the application and submit it to the school's postgraduate training department to be considered for admission," said Ms. Phuong.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Trang - Head of the Graduate Training Department of the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), the removal of basic and fundamental subject entrance exams in master's admission has been implemented by the school since the 2022 enrollment period.

"Previously, many candidates for master's degrees had been working for many years, so the entrance exam had to review math and basic subjects, which was a big obstacle for them. Meanwhile, these people had experience and high expertise, so the selection process was more suitable.

Since the introduction of this method of graduate school admission, the age of students has increased (26 - 27 years old). About 40% of the successful candidates are those who work for foreign companies, 25% are those who work in the public sector," said Mr. Trang.

This year, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the University of Information Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) also promoted direct admission and selection, along with direct assessment of candidates' skills, attitudes, and professional knowledge through direct interviews instead of graduate entrance exams.

Dr. Pham Tan Ha - Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - said: "The school also has a combined admission form for candidates applying to majors that require writing essays on the topic of graduate school admission essays."

According to Dr. Le Ngoc Son - Director of the Institute of International and Postgraduate Training of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, the school has completely abandoned the graduate entrance exam and switched to considering two criteria: considering the average score of the entire undergraduate course, the level of suitability of the major/major of the university graduates with the major/major of the application. At the same time, priority is given to some subjects according to the university admission regulations.

Explaining the decision to remove the entrance exam, Mr. Son said: "For graduate admissions, it is difficult to assess candidates' abilities through 1-2 exams. Organizing review exams is also very formal and costly. The school's admission goal is to select suitable candidates with the ability to study for a master's degree through their application."

"Not open-door, easygoing"

Mr. Trang added that from 2021 to now, students of the University of Technology who have just graduated with good or excellent degrees in internationally accredited majors will be directly admitted to graduate school. Candidates who do not meet the requirements for direct admission to the school will have their application documents (essays, letters of recommendation from prestigious lecturers, etc.) considered. In other cases, the school will conduct interviews.

"This admission method is not open-ended or easy. Some majors have a 20-30% failure rate for interview candidates. Moreover, studying for a master's degree at our school is not easy. Most students do not complete their training on time, or even overdue," Mr. Trang shared.

According to Dr. Nguyen Tan Tran Minh Khang - Vice Principal of the University of Information Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), in reality, information technology students after graduating from university have little need to continue their studies because there are many job opportunities, so every year the school recruits just enough graduate students and is relatively stable.

"Therefore, there is no such thing as schools being lenient in graduate admissions. The new form of graduate admission that Ho Chi Minh City National University is promoting is mainly following the world trend - selection, no entrance exam. In the context of integration, Vietnam's leading universities must follow that trend" - Mr. Khang said.

Dr. Thai Doan Thanh - Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade - said that the school has recruited students based on the selection method since 2021, after the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training allowed it.

"For entrance exams, it is not possible to evaluate through a few subjects, but to evaluate the entire learning process. When organizing exams for one or two subjects, there are places that organize short-term review sessions, so it is not possible to evaluate comprehensively. Master's degree admission is a common trend in many countries around the world," Mr. Thanh analyzed.

Female priority, seniority

Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade considers admission based on the following criteria: candidates who are priority subjects according to university admission regulations. Priority is given to candidates with cumulative university GPA from high to low until the quota is full.

In case the number of candidates with the same cumulative average score of the university level is higher than the number of admission quotas, priority will be given to the criteria of seniority in the field related to the major (based on the labor contract, social insurance payment period or confirmation from the working unit). Candidates with higher seniority will be admitted. In case there are many candidates with the same seniority, priority will be given to female candidates.

Don't guess

Dr. Tran Dinh Ly - Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry - said that currently, master's training has two forms: research and application orientation, so graduate admission should not be organized in a quiz-style exam.

However, the selection process must be done seriously and not too leniently to ensure the quality of input. In particular, it is necessary to prevent the situation of breaking the rules and chasing quantity in master's degree recruitment.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bo-thi-tuyen-dau-vao-thac-si-cac-truong-noi-xu-huong-chung-2024031608393312.htm