Brenn-White, M., & van Rest, E., English-taught master’s programs in Europe: New findings on supply and demand. Institute of International Education, New York, 2012. Pages: 22.

In March 2012, the Institute of International Education released this briefing paper, which provides a detailed, data-driven look at the growth of English-taught master’s programmes in Europe over the last five years. The authors examine statistics obtained from MastersPortal.eu, an online directory and comprehensive source of information about postgraduate degree programmes in Europe. They further analyse the growth of such programmes, including the total number of programmes offered by country and academic discipline, their duration, and data on prospective students.

Among other key findings, the authors note, that there has been dramatic growth in the number of English-taught master’s programmes offered in non-English-speaking Europe. The number of such programmes in Europe (excluding Britain and Ireland) was 4 644 in 2011, up from 1 028 in 2007. The Netherlands has the greatest number of programmes (812), followed by Germany (632) and Sweden (401). With regard to programme characteristics, approximately 20% of the programmes listed in 2011 were joint degree programmes and the overwhelming majority of English-taught master’s programmes were two years in length. Also notable, the data show that prospective students who have shown the greatest interest in English-taught programmes in non-English-speaking Europe are based primarily in Europe, followed by Asia, and more specifically (in rank order) in the UK, Germany, the US, India, and Greece.

Institute of International Education