Recent data from Statistics Austria have revealed that men are more inclined to pursue a Master’s degree following the completion of the Bachelor’s degree than women.
According to the analysis, in the 2019/20 academic year, Bachelor’s degrees constituted over 91 per cent of all first degrees awarded in the country.
Within the next two years, 63 per cent of the Bachelor’s graduates in Austria embarked on a Master’s degree programme.
However, interestingly, the enrollment rate was higher among men, with almost 67 per cent deciding to pursue Master’s studies compared to just over 60 per cent of women.
Emphasising the importance of these findings, Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas noted the widespread adoption of Bachelor’s degrees in the country’s universities, stressing that Bachelor’s degrees have now almost completely replaced the diploma as the first academic qualification.
Thoman highlighted that more than 90 per cent of first degrees are now Bachelor’s degrees, marking a notable shift since the Bologna declaration that took place 20 years ago.
He also further noted that within a two-year period, six out of ten Bachelor’s graduates have enrolled in a Master’s programme and shared additional information about transfer rates.
The transfer rates are over 70 per cent at university colleges of teacher education and public universities, while at universities of applied sciences and private universities only just under half of bachelorʼs graduates go on to study for a masterʼs degree.
Data from Statistics Austria show that university colleges of teacher education demonstrated the highest transfer rate to Master’s programmes within two years – over 79 per cent.
This increase has been attributed to the changes requiring a Master’s degree for those who want to hold teaching positions since the 2016/17 academic year.
Public universities also saw a notable transfer rate of around 72 per cent to Master’s programmes. In contrast, universities of applied sciences and private universities reported lower transfer rates, 45 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively.
Statistics Austria further revealed that 58.1 per cent of the 31,697 Bachelor’s degrees in the 2019/20 academic year were obtained by women.
Despite women dominating among graduates, they are less likely to further their education and obtain a Master’s degree.
The total number of graduations in Austria in the 2021/22 academic year stood at 72,289, representing a 2.1 per cent decrease from the 2020/21 academic year. The highest number of graduations was registered in public universities, with a total of 34,238 graduates in the same academic year.
