Titles

See also: List of master’s degrees

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.) is specified. The two most common titles of master’s degrees are the Master of Arts (MA/M.A./A.M) and Master of Science (MSc/M.Sc./M.S./S.M.) degrees, which normally consist of a mixture of research and taught material. # ISO certification in India

The title of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) indicates (in the same manner as Doctor of Philosophy) an extended degree with a large research component.Other generically named master’s programs include the Master of Studies (MSt)/Master of Advanced Study (MASt)/Master of Advanced Studies (M.A.S.), and Professional Master’s (MProf). Integrated master’s degrees and postgraduate master’s degrees oriented towards professional practice are often more specifically named for their field of study (“tagged degrees”), including, for example, Master of Business Administration, Master of Divinity, Master of Engineering, Master of Physics, and Master of Public Health.# ISO certification in India

The form “Master in …” is also sometimes used, particularly where a faculty title is used for an integrated master’s degree in addition to its use in a traditional postgraduate master’s degree, e.g. Master in Science (MSci) and Master in Arts (MArts). This form is also sometimes used with other integrated master’s degrees and occasionally for postgraduate master’s degrees (e.g. Master’s in Accounting). Some universities use Latin degree names; because of the flexibility of syntax in Latin, the Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees may be known in these institutions as Magister artium and Magister scientiæ or reversed from the English order to Artium magister and Scientiæ magister. Examples of the reversed usage include Harvard University and the University of Chicago, leading to the abbreviations A.M. and S.M. for these degrees. The forms “Master of Science” and “Master in Science” are indistinguishable in Latin.# ISO certification in India

In the UK, full stops (periods) are not commonly used in degree abbreviations. In the US, The Gregg Reference Manual recommends placing periods in degrees (e.g. B.S., Ph.D.), while The Chicago Manual of Style recommends writing degrees without periods (e.g. BS, PhD).

Master of Science is generally abbreviated M.S. or MS in countries following United States usage and MSc or M.Sc. in countries following British usage, where MS would refer to the degree of Master of Surgery. In Australia, some extended master’s degrees use the title “doctor”: Juris doctor and Doctors of Medical Practice, Physiotherapy, Dentistry, Optometry and Veterinary Practice. Despite their titles these are still master’s degree and may not be referred to as doctoral degrees, nor may graduates use the title “doctor”.# ISO certification in India

Types

• Postgraduate/graduate master’s degrees (MA/M.A./A.M., MPhil/M.Phil., MSc/M.S./SM, MBA/M.B.A., LLM/LL.M., MAsc, etc.) are the traditional formal form of master’s degree, where the student already holds an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree on entry. Courses normally last one year in the UK and two years in the US.
• Integrated master’s degrees (MChem, MEng, MMath, MPharm, MPhys, MPsych, MSci, etc.) are UK degrees that combine an undergraduate bachelor’s degree course with an extra year at master’s level (i.e. a total of four years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five years in Scotland). A 2011 survey of UK Higher Education Institutes found that 64% offered integrated master’s course, mostly in STEM disciplines, with the most common degrees being MEng, MSci and MChem. 82% of respondents conferred only a master’s degree for the course, while 9% conferred a bachelor’s degree at the end of the bachelor’s-level stage and a master’s degree at the end of the course and a further 9% conferred both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the end of the course.
• Non-master’s level master’s degrees The ancient universities of the UK and Ireland have traditionally awarded MAs in a different manner to that usual today. The Scottish MA is a bachelor’s-level qualification offered by the ancient universities of Scotland. The Oxbridge MA is not an academic qualification; it is granted without further examination to those who have gained a BA from Oxford or Cambridge Universities in England, and the MA of Trinity College Dublin in Ireland is granted to its graduates in a similar manner.

The UK Quality Assurance Agency defines three categories of master’s degrees:

• Research master’s degrees are primarily research based, although may contain taught elements, particularly on research methods. Examples are the MLitt (usually, but not always a research degree), the Master’s by Research, and the MPhil. The Master’s by Research (MbyRes, ResM), which is a research degree, is distinct from the Master of Research (MRes), which is a taught degree concentrating on research methods.
• Specialised or advanced study master’s degrees are primarily taught degrees, although commonly at least a third of the course is devoted to a research project assessed by dissertation. These may be stand-alone master’s courses, leading to, e.g., MSc, MA or MRes degrees, or integrated master’s degrees.
• Professional or practice master’s degrees (see also professional degree) are designed to prepare students for a particular professional career and are primarily taught, although they may include work placements and independent study projects. Some may require professional experience for entry. Examples include MBA, MDiv, LLM and MSW as well as some integrated master’s degrees. The name of the degree normally includes the subject name.

The United States Department of Education classifies master’s degrees as research or professional. Research master’s degrees in the US (e.g., M.A./A.M. or M.S.) require the completion of taught courses and examinations in a major and one or more minor subjects, as well as (normally) a research thesis. Professional master’s degrees may be structured like research master’s (e.g., M.E./M.Eng.) or may concentrate on a specific discipline (e.g., M.B.A.) and often substitute a project for the thesis.# ISO certification in India