Problems of formation and implementation of the master's programme 'Ethnological Examination' at Saint Petersburg State University

The article is devoted to a range of issues associated with the development of the Master's Programme 'Ethnological Examination' in the subject area of 'Anthropology and Ethnology' at Saint-Petersburg State University. Materials used for the analysis include educational and methodological documentation and articles dealing with the formation and implementation of university study programmes. The article provides a brief history of the Programme in question. It also considers the relationship between bachelor's and master's programmes at the University as well as the issue of choosing between applied and academic specialisms of the above-mentioned Master's Programme. In addition, the design of the Programme both as a whole and in terms of its components - separate disciplines and modules -is discussed. The author raises issues such as what is more important - to seek widening of students' scientific knowledge overall or to focus on developing their practical skills in the first place; how many and what kindred disciplines are needed for educating master's students; and what forms of students' independent work should be there. Also dealt with here are the issue of the acquisition of qualification and that of the volume of research work to be done on the part of students. In the concluding part of the article, it is suggested that informal educational and methodological practices to be applied in the field of ethnography and anthropology and broader discussions thereof should become the focus of all parties interested and involved in the educational process.

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