Master's degree
A master's degree[note 1] (from Latin magister) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
Within the area studied, master's graduates are expected to possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theoretical and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, critical evaluation, or professional application; and the ability to solve complex problems and think rigorously and independently.
[4] In Scotland, the pre-Reformation universities (St Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen) developed so that the Scottish MA became their first degree, while in Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin, the MA was awarded to BA graduates of a certain standing without further examination from the late 17th century, its main purpose being to confer full membership of the university.
[5] At Harvard the 1700 regulations required that candidates for the master's degree had to pass a public examination,[6] but by 1835 this was awarded Oxbridge-style three years after the BA.
At the start of the century, the only master's degree was the MA, and this was normally awarded without any further study or examination.
In Scotland, all the statutes of the Universities which enforced conditions on the grant of degrees were a dead letter.
[22] In 1862, a royal commission suggested that Durham should award master's degrees in theology and science (with the suggested abbreviations MT and MS, contrary to later British practice of using MTh or MTheol and MSc for these degrees),[23] but its recommendations were not enacted.
The Master of Science (MSc) degree was finally introduced in Britain in 1878 at Durham,[27] followed by the new Victoria University in 1881.
In 1903, the London Daily News criticised the practice of Oxford and Cambridge, calling their MAs "the most stupendous of academic frauds" and "bogus degrees".
Oxford and Cambridge retained their MAs, but renamed many of their postgraduate bachelor's degrees in the higher faculties as master's degrees, e.g. the Cambridge LLB became the LLM in 1982,[35] and the Oxford BLitt, BPhil (except in philosophy) and BSc became the MLitt, MPhil and MSc.
This development was noted by the Dearing Report into UK Higher Education in 1997, which called for the establishment of a national framework of qualifications and identified five different routes to master's degrees:[39] This led to the establishment of the Quality Assurance Agency, which was charged with drawing up the framework.
In 2000, renewed pressure was put on Oxbridge MAs in the UK Parliament, with Labour MP Jackie Lawrence introducing an early day motion calling for them to be scrapped and telling the Times Higher Education it was a "discriminatory practice" and that it "devalues and undermines the efforts of students at other universities".
[42] The QAA released the first "framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland" in January 2001.
It also addressed the Oxbridge MA issue, noting that "the MAs granted by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are not academic qualifications".
It was specified that the title "Master" should only be used for qualifications that met the learning outcomes and credit definitions, although it was noted that "A small number of universities in Scotland have a long tradition of labelling certain first degrees as 'MA'.
Reports of Agency reviews of such provision will relate to undergraduate benchmarks and will make it clear that the title reflects Scottish custom and practice, and that any positive judgement on standards should not be taken as implying that the outcomes of the programme were at postgraduate level.
Master's degrees are commonly titled using the form 'Master of ...', where either a faculty (typically Arts or Science) or a field (Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Business Administration, etc.)
Extended master's degrees typically take three to four years and contain significant practice-related learning that must be developed in collaboration with relevant professional, statutory or regulatory bodies.
[63] There is a range of pathways to the degree with entry based on evidence of a capacity to undertake higher level studies in a proposed field.
In general, structure and duration of a program of study leading to a master's degree will differ by country and university.
[62] In the Overarching Framework of Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area defined as part of the Bologna process, a "second cycle" (i.e. master's degree) programme is typically 90–120 ECTS credits, with a minimum requirement of at least 60 ECTS credits at second-cycle level.
[59][73] In addition, students will normally have to write a personal statement and, in the arts and humanities, will often have to submit a portfolio of work.
[76] 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, Austrian and Polish university Diplom/Magister, or the similar five-year Diploma awarded in several subjects in Greek,[77] Spanish, Portuguese, and other universities and polytechnics).
[clarification needed] Under the Bologna Process, countries in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) are moving to a three-cycle (bachelor's - master's - doctorate) system of degrees.
Conversely, the Specialization Degree, also comprehends a 1–2 years studies, but does not require a new thesis to be proposed and defended, being usually attended by professionals looking for complementary training on a specific area of their knowledge.
Master's degree (stricto sensu) does not require a set minimum of class-hours, but it is practically impossible to finish it in less than 18 months due to the workload and research required; an average time for the degree is 2.5 years[citation needed].
In Brazil, the degree often serves as additional qualification for those seeking to differentiate themselves in the job market, or for those who want to pursue a PhD It corresponds to the European (Bologna Process) 2nd Cycle or the North American master's.
Hong Kong requires one or two years of full-time coursework to achieve a master's degree.
Taking this route, students prepare a preliminary research paper during their first year, after which they must pass an exam before being allowed to proceed, at which point they are awarded a master's degree.
[citation needed] As an incentive designed to increase foreign student numbers, the government and universities of Taiwan have redoubled their efforts to make a range of high-quality scholarships available[100] in the form of university-specific scholarships that include tuition waivers of up to NT$20,000 per month.
