Access to Graduate Education in Brazil: predictors of choice and enrollment in master’s degree programs

This paper assesses the factors associated with access to master’s degree programs in Brazil, investigating potential evidence of inequity. The main findings are: (a) students are more likely to choose a master’s degree program in the same university or close to where they graduated from college; (b) academic performance and activities during college are associated with an increase in the relative odds of progressing to graduate education; (c) male students and those with a higher household income are more likely to start a master’s program; and (d) for most broad academic fields, no evidence that nonwhite students are less likely to start a master’s program is found.