Andreas Flick is studying for a bachelor’s degree in theatre and media at the University of Bayreuth, where he would like to stay and receive a master’s. Instead, he will probably have to go halfway around the world, to New Zealand, to find his desired combination of subjects.

Flick is just one of millions of students who are finding themselves in the middle of possibly the largest reform of higher education in history. Across Europe, universities are radically changing their educational structures and degree programmes. Traditional degrees, such as Germany’s Magister and Diplom, are disappearing, to be replaced by bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

The biggest difference is that students can graduate with a bachelor’s after just three to four years of study, and go directly into employment. Those who want to continue studying can go on to receive a master’s degree in one to two more years. This system has been traditional in most English-speaking countries and will become the standard in Europe by 2010, in a reform called the Bologna Process.

The reform, which includes 45 countries, should also provide greater international mobility, decrease the high drop-out rates in a number of countries, reduce completion time and make it easier to compare degrees across borders (see link below).

At the moment, however, the educational structures in the various countries and institutions do not fit together well. "My university was unwilling or unable to provide a master’s programme to follow the bachelor’s," Flick says. "At the moment the only possibility is to leave Germany and join a master’s programme in another country. It’s a terrible situation."

Despite his own difficulties, the 22-year-old supports the reform, saying that bachelor’s students work harder and are more motivated than students in traditional German degree programmes. Being a bachelor’s graduate has career advantages, he says. "We can show that we are willing to try new things, and convince employers that we are not afraid to take risks."

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The Bologna Process

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