What factors influence university choice in postgraduate education?

Abstract

Postgraduate education includes master's, Ph.D. and art proficiency activities carried out in higher education institutions. There are 26,963 postgraduate education programs in T & uuml;rkiye as of 2021. Nearly half a million postgraduate students are enrolled in these programs. Postgraduate education in T & uuml;rkiye is offered in many different fields. Health management is just one of them. As of 2018, there are 47 master's programs and 16 Ph.D. programs that continue to provide postgraduate education in this field. The proliferation of alternatives in graduate education makes it difficult for individuals to choose which university to study at. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the factors that influence the preferences of students pursuing a master's degree in health management and to prioritize them using the AHP method. Based on the literature review, a draft form was prepared and sent to the expert group. In order to determine the factors influencing the choice of university in postgraduate education by considering the feedback received, the final form consisting of four main factors (academic climate, academic process, physical environment, brand value of the university and the city) and 23 sub-factors was obtained. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 34 graduate students enrolled in the Master of Health Management program who agreed to participate in the research. The AHP model was based on the Super Decisions program. The results of the study show that the most important criterion influencing the choice of university by graduate students of the Health Management Department is academic climate, while physical environment is less important. University brand image is the most important sub-criterion. University brand image is the most important sub-criterion. The study is important for determining the factors that influence graduate students' choice of university in graduate education and for guiding universities.