Yep - but it takes a long time on their own (set a nice young lady to be a parent once she's just old enough and she might make it...they don't always seem to make master, tho).

Others on the board have suggested "speed parenting" with over 50 female villagers -- they can't make babies, but they can go indoors. If you grab and drop the woman on a male villager repeatedly, her skill will go up. Do it enough times (could be 5-10, could be 50-100 depending on her skill level), and she'll become a master.

Don't recommend trying this with the guys until you have a nice stable food supply