Time to Complete a Pos-graduation: some evidence of “school effect” upon ISCED 6 trajectories

Most Portuguese higher education institutions are increasingly compelled to observe rather strict arrangements in what concerns time to achieve post-graduation studies. Actually European equivalence and mobility procedures in the framework of the Bologna process will not allow for considerable heterogeneity in this light. Nevertheless research carried recently on four Portuguese higher education institutions’ MSc. and PhD programmes revealed there is still a large amount of diversity among average time spells required to complete identical degrees. This outcome suggests that under strict time arrangements Bologna 2nd. and 3rd. cycles rate of success will widely vary among higher education institutions. Individual longitudinal data relative to a representative sample of the abovementioned MSc. and PhD. trajectories allows us to adjust a duration model and thereby investigate some of the main features behind those so different time spells, that is to say so heterogeneous success patterns. A quite meaningful “school effect” revealed to be one of the most striking outcomes.