Student experience on different types of Master's degrees in the social sciences and law. Social, personal and institutional factors in the Spanish university

Abstract

University institutions are aware that they are no longer an educational environment intended exclusively for young people and that they have to care for people throughout their working and adult lives. The reality is that university master’s degrees show a growing diversification of students and an increase in the dropout rate. This research focuses on understanding the interest of institutional aspects, along with socio-personal factors in the transit between different types of master’s degrees.

A mixed methodology is used. Two questionnaires and autobiographical narratives are used to collect information. The sample of students varies from the first (1795) to the second questionnaire (1352). They are enrolled in master’s in social and legal sciences, offered in seven public universities in Spain and belonging to different disciplinary areas. 56 students distributed by university and master´s degrees collaborated in the autobiographical narratives.

The results show that the transition is conditioned by the interaction between the biographical and the circumstances in which the master’s degrees are implemented. Effective development in socio-personal skills allows them to respond to academic demands, while the support of their social environment facilitates family and work reconciliation and helps them modulate their stress. The University has to reconsider its ways of doing and diversifying its response to the heterogeneity of the master’s students since, university institutions are ultimately responsible to actively promote comprehensive learning environments.