This is and have always been the case for Masters and above across Europe. It varies for Licentiates.
It is also often the case for exams in majors (they are often oral).
So nothing innovative there
In my part of Europe oral exams have been a staple even in highschool and across unis. I was pretty surprised when I've seen that other parts of the world don't complement written testing with oral understanding checks.
In my part of Europe oral exams have been a staple even in highschool and across unis. I was pretty surprised when I've seen that other parts of the world don't complement written testing with oral understanding checks.