A good Bachelors degree will prepare a good student for replicating science, and a good Masters degree will definitely leave a motivated and skilled student with a good advisor a master of his or her specific field.<p>The problem is that grade inflation means the majority of students will fall short of these goalposts. I agree with your assessment that undergrad degrees represent hurdles, regardless of whether a student is planning to stay in academia or not.<p>My experience with getting a Masters degree was that it was really tough work that required my full dedication for two years. But I had a world-class scientist as an advisor breathing down my neck the whole time and expecting results, and my experience doesn&#x27;t seem to match that of many other MScs I know. Some departments seem to be &quot;degree factories&quot;; it takes an unreasonable amount of effort to follow up students in the classical &quot;apprenticeship&quot; tradition described by GP. It would be very strange if every department at every university managed this level of dedication, with student numbers being what they are.