Abstract:
The selection of special degree is one of the most important decisions an undergraduate
student has to make in higher education in the university which plays a major role in their
future. The objective of the study is to understand the factors which influence the selection
of specialization domains among the management students of the University of Vavuniya.
The sample of 107 students who are studying in first year first semester in the academic year
2023/2024 were selected purposely and the relevant information were collected thorough a
structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using frequency and to identify the factors
influencing the choice of special degree, probit regression model was employed. The results
of frequency analysis revealed that 80.3% of the first - year students prefer to choose other
specialization degree such as, accounting or human resources management or marketing
management or entrepreneurship and only 19.6% them prefer to follow business economics.
Estimated results of probit model suggested that, personal consideration is the most
important factor followed by influence of family at higher level were the major determinants
in the selection of special degree. Further, other important factor is the sources of information
and among them, information from faculty website has highly influencing the choice of
special degree followed by academic quality. The findings of this study can be used as an
effort to better understand not only how the students choose their special degree, but also
why many students do not select the business economics as their specialization in the degree
program.
