Postgraduate courses are divided into two large groups, lato and stricto sensu. In this article we will explain the main differences between them and later we will also explain the existing subdivisions. The main differences are in the workload, student objectives and methodologies used.
Lato Sensu
These are courses that focus heavily on case studies and applications in the professional's daily life, generally offered as a way of updating and specializing in a certain topic. As they are mostly market-focused, they generally have a more flexible working hours, and may feature weekend or blended meeting formats (where there is an intensive week and subsequent weeks remotely). It is best suited for professionals at the beginning of their careers or who need to update themselves on a specific topic.
MBA (Master in Business Administration)
It is recommended for professionals who have already been in the job market for a few years, since the exchange of experiences between students is an important part of the program. Generally, the audience for this type of postgraduate course is people who hold senior management positions or who wish to prepare for these positions. Combining the network and the acquisition of know-how with the best practices in people management, business, projects and various topics in the areas of administration, the student becomes capable of working in executive and planning positions, whether in the private or public sector .
Specialization
It is a course focused on reinforcing knowledge in a specific topic or area of activity. Unlike the MBA, for example, the audience does not necessarily have extensive market experience, and is often done immediately after completing a degree and, therefore, with a generally younger audience. The methodology allows students to master different approaches, interpretations and problem resolutions.
Stricto Sensu
There is a pre-conceived idea that those looking for a Stricto Sensu postgraduate course only have the desire to teach – part-time or full-time, which actually happens in some cases. In addition to these people, there are those who seek to train themselves to differentiate themselves in the market, acquiring knowledge and methods to improve their professional performance and facilitate the search for new challenges when necessary. Stricto Sensu postgraduate courses signal that the professional is someone who is committed and has the criteria to develop new knowledge, in addition to having networking with people from different careers and experiences that complement their own, thus being able to develop new ideas and knowledge.
The Stricto Sensu postgraduate options aim to encourage the student to develop original ideas that expand the frontier of knowledge in the area researched. The focus is to promote different methodological and scientific approaches, thus outlining lines of investigation with the highest scientific criteria.
In Stricto Sensu, discussions and concept analyses, students' diverse knowledge and different perspectives on historical moments and theories serve as input for the development of new approaches and creation of knowledge.
Academic Master's
The best-known Master's degree is perhaps the academic one, closely associated with professionals who want to teach. But not only this audience is found in this program, many people seek this master's degree to become researchers with greater scientific rigor or to develop research methodologies. The academic master's degree helps professionals, in addition to developing research-related skills, learn more about andragogy to pass on knowledge.
Professional master's degree
Despite being very similar to the academic master's degree, this modality differs due to its scope and methodology. There is a much greater focus on applying academic knowledge in the student's daily professional life. This way, upon completing the course, the student will have a theoretical basis to apply their knowledge in the job market.
The objective is to make the student familiar with research methodologies, but not necessarily continue a career as a researcher. What is really important is that this professional has experience in research so that they know how to locate within a scientific context subjects that are of interest to their profession, so that they can include existing and future knowledge in their work. The creation of critical sense is a non-trivial exercise, which requires a lot of effort and dedication from the student to be done in a scientific way.
Doctorate
The doctorate requires a higher level of maturity of ideas and critical sense, because the course requires a thesis defense. The course makes the student actually expand the frontier of knowledge, being evaluated by a highly refined panel and placing the student in a position to judge ideas.
Although common, a doctorate does not need to be completed after a master's degree or another postgraduate degree. This is mainly because the doctoral thesis is somewhat intimidating, requiring the student to have a high level of knowledge in developing new ideas, academic production, high critical sense and experimentation in the act of research. Therefore, many students first go through the master's degree to “prepare” for a doctorate, since the master's program promotes this knowledge.
The best type of postgraduate degree depends on your professional goals. We hope this text helped you understand better so you can make a safe choice! Remember: a postgraduate degree requires planning and commitment. It's a decision that changes your professional future!
