Quality Assurance and Global Competency of Japanese Master's Program Education in the Era of Change

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2005 Report of the Central Council for Education entitled "Graduate Education in the New Era" recommends that master's courses develop not only researchers, high-skill professionals and university professors but intellectual human resources that are able to support the knowledge-based society in various fields. It also encourages clarification of the expected outcome and reconsideration of program structure. This research project includes a survey of faculty members in 684 master's programs in science and technology in Japan. The survey asked them whether they thought their main goal was training of researchers or developing professional engineers. The survey shows that Japanese master's program education in the field of science and technology places primary emphasis on training researchers. In addition, the survey proves that the professor-guided laboratory work of graduate students is more highly evaluated than classroom education (course works). This research project suggests that laboratory work is inevitable to maintain the quality assurance in the field of science and technology.Along with the above-mentioned survey the comparison was made with several technical universities in Europe which are in the midst of revolutionary changes in the educational systems as a result of the Bologna Declaration.The research project also investigates how high-skill professionals are being educated in the field of nursing. In this context the project has taken National Nursing College for instance and examined its master's program from the viewpoint of training clinical nurse specialists.