Master's Programme: Problem of Choice

Higher education in Russia is difficult. The recently changed system has caused a lot of confusion, and the labor market has not yet adapted to new demand and supply. Graduates of the bachelor's degree take unreasonable decisions regarding the further academic life, which can negatively affect itself, the university, and even the state. The purpose of the study is to identify the categories (groups) of students entering the master's program and determine the degree of their attractiveness and importance for the university. The object of the study is the graduates of the St. Petersburg campus of the HSE in 2018. The subject is motivation and factors of students' decision making regarding admission to the master's program. With the correlation and cluster analysis of collected data, we identified groups of attracting students to university to study on master’s programs: interaction and work with them will lead to the successful achievement of the goals of the both sides. In addition, we identified groups working with whom will lead to nothing but the waste of resources of both parties. The data of this study will be able to increase the effectiveness of the work of the Higher School of Economics - St. Petersburg, which will positively affect its national rating.