Master's degree

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A master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.[1] Within the area studied, graduates possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theoretical and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, critical evaluation and/or professional application; and the ability to solve complex problems and think rigorously and independently.[2]

The two most common types of master's degrees are the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Science (M.S.); these may be course-based (Taught MA), research-based (MA by Research and Thesis), or a mixture of the two. Some universities use the Latin degree names; because of the flexibility of word order in Latin, the Master of Arts and Master of Science may be known as magister artium or artium magister and magister scientiæ or scientiarum magister, respectively.

Harvard University and the University of Chicago for instance, use A.M. and S.M. for their master's degrees and MIT uses S.M. for its master of science degrees. Master of Science often is abbreviated MS or M.S. in the United States,[3] and MSc or M.Sc. in Commonwealth nations and Europe.

A dissertation may or may not be required, depending on the program. There are various degrees of the same level, such as engineer's degrees, which have different names for historical reasons.

There has recently been an increase in programs leading to these degrees in the United States; more than twice as many such degrees are now awarded as compared to the 1970s.[4]

In some languages, a master's degree is called a magister, which is Latin for master (teacher), and magister or a cognate can also be used for a person who has the degree.

Contents

[edit] Structure

Further information: Master's degree in North America and Master's degree non-Euroamerican

There are a range of pathways to the degree, with entry based on evidence of a capacity to undertake higher degree studies in the proposed field. The master's is usually offered at a postgraduate level, although it is also offered as an undergraduate degree. Some university programmes provide for a joint bachelor's and master's degree after four or five years.

[edit] Duration

In the recently standardized European System of higher education (Bologna process), a master's degree corresponds to a one- or two-year postgraduate program (60 to 120 ECTS credits) undertaken after at least three years of undergraduate studies. It provides higher qualification for employment or prepares for doctoral studies. In general, though, the structure and duration of a program of study leading to a master's degree will differ by country and by university:

  • In some systems, such as those of the USA and Japan, a master's degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded after the completion of an academic program of one to six years in duration.
  • In the systems of a limited number of countries, such as England, Scotland (students entering their education after July 2007), and Ireland, a master's degree can be both an undergraduate academic degree awarded after the completion of an academic program of four (or sometimes five) years, or a postgraduate academic degree awarded after the completion of an academic program of one to two years.

[edit] Admission

In countries in which a master's degree is a postgraduate degree, admission to a master's program normally requires holding a bachelor's degree (in the United Kingdom an 'honours' bachelor degree), although relevant work experience may qualify a candidate. Progressing to a doctoral program sometimes requires that the candidate first earn a master's degree. In some fields or postgraduate programs, work on a doctorate begins immediately after the bachelor's degree, but the master's may be earned along the way, as a result of the successful completion of coursework and certain examinations. In some cases the student's bachelor's degree must be in the same subject as the intended master's degree, or in a closely allied discipline; in others, the subject of the bachelor's degree is unimportant.

[edit] Comparable European degrees

In some European countries, a magister is a first degree and may be considered equivalent to a modern (standardized) master's degree (e.g., the German university Diplom/Magister, or the similar 5-year or 7-year diploma awarded in several subjects in Greek, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and other universities and polytechnics).

In the Francophone countries, a DEA is the postgraduate degree and considered equivalent to the master's degree (e.g., in France and the French-speaking Belgium, a DEA is a one- to two-year degree taken after the Licence), after the application of Bologna process, the DEA had been given a new name: MAS (Master of Advanced Studies).

In Switzerland, the old Licence (four to five years in duration) is considered equivalent to the master's degree.[5]

In Denmark the title candidatus or candidata (female) abbreviated cand. is used as a master's equivalent. Upon completion of for instance, a engineral master's degree, a person becomes cand.polyt. (polytechnical). Similar abbreviations, inspired by Latin, applies for a large number of educations, such as sociology (cand.scient.soc), economics (cand.polit. or cand.oecon), law (cand.jur), humanities (cand.mag) etc. A cand. title requires the obtainment of a bachelor's degree. In Sweden, the title of kand. equivalates to a bachelor's degree.

[edit] List of master's degrees

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.aqf.edu.au/masters.htm
  2. ^ http://www.aqf.edu.au/masters.htm
  3. ^ Google search for "MS PhD"
  4. ^ "Master’s Degrees Abound as Universities and Students See a Windfall" by Hannah Fairfield, New York Times, Sept 12, 2007
  5. ^ Rectors' Conference of the Swiss Universities
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