The study on influence factors of the grade point average of degree courses among Master graduates in medicine

Abstract

Objective To understand the grade point average (GPA) of degree courses and its influence factors in Master postgraduates in China. Method A cross-sectional study was carried out to collect the data on GPA and the student information in the management system of postgraduates who graduated from Graduate School of Public Health from 2013 to 2015. SPSS 20.0 was used to describe the basic situation, and the data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis and multivariate analysis of variance. Results During 3-year, totally 213 Master students were graduated with the average GPA of (3.19±0.30). The female had higher GPA than the male subjects [(3.24±0.29) vs. (3.05±0.29), F=17.11, P=0.000], those enrolled by the recommendation than those enrolled by the graduate entry examinations [(3.36±0.25) vs. (3.11±0.28), F=39.36, P=0.000], those graduated from the university of 985 were better than the graduate students from other universities [(3.30±0.29) vs. (3.11±0.28), F=22.14, P=0.000], those with the academic degree than those with the professional degree [(3.31±0.25) vs. (2.99±0.27), F=72.38, P=0.000], and there was a negative relationship between the total credits and GPA of degree courses (r=-0.48, P=0.000). Further, sex, enrollment way, undergraduate university, and total credits of degree courses were independent influence factors under multivariate analysis of variance (all P<0.05). Conclusion These master graduates in medicine have better GPA of degree courses and it can be statistically related to sex, enrollment way, undergraduate university, and total credits of degree courses. Some measures should be developed to enroll more students from better university, improve the master programs, and raise the quality of graduate education management. Key words: Postgraduate; Degree courses; Grade point average; Cross-sectional study