Master's degree
A Master's degree is an academic degree generally awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one to two years in duration. Alternately in the UK it is awarded for an undergraduate course with an additional year consisting of higher level modules and a major project.
MA, MS, MSc
The Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees are the basic type in most subjects and may be entirely course-based, entirely research-based or a mixture. The Master's degree is intermediate between a bachelor's degree and a doctorate. In some fields, one customarily earns a masters before a doctorate; in others, work on a doctorate begins immediately after a bachelor's degree.
MEd
Master of Education degrees are similar to MA, MS and MSc where the subject studied is education.
In the United States some states licence teachers with a bachelor's degree but require a master's within a set number of years as continuing education.
United Kingdom
Undergraduate Masters
(MChem, MEng, MMath, MPhys, etc.)
In the UK, many universities now have a four year undergrad programme in science courses, with a project in the final year. The awards for these are named after the subject, so a course in mathematics would earn a Master of Mathematics degree, abbreviated to MMath, or have a general title such as MSci (the name abbreviated to this degree varies between universities, for instance at Cambridge it is the degree of Master of Natural Sciences, while at Durham it is the degree of Master in Science). Although these degrees reflect a higher level of achievement than the traditional bachelor's degree, they rank below postgraduate master's degrees such as MSc and MA.
Postgraduate Masters
(MSc, MA)
These can either be "taught" degrees, involving lectures and examination, plus a small dissertation, or "research" degrees, though the latter have largely been replaced by MPhil and MRes programmes (see below). Taught masters' programmes usually involve 1 or 2 years full-time study. They are usually very intensive, and concentrate on one very specialised area. Some universities also offer a "masters by learning contract" scheme, where elements of a students' work experience may be assessed for the award of a masters degree. MPhil and MRes
The Master of Philosophy is a research degree awarded for the completion of a thesis. It is a shorter version of the PhD and some universities routinely enter potential PhD students into the MPhil programme and allow them to upgrade to the full PhD programme a year or two into the course. The Master of Research degree is a more structured and organised version of the MPhil, usually designed to prepare a student for a career in research. For example, an MRes may combine individual research with periods of work placement in research establisments.MA (Cantab.) and MA (Oxon.)
The universities of Cambridge and Oxford award automatic master's degrees to all their bachelor's degree holders two years after graduation (provided the candidates have avoided criminal conviction during that period). The only real significance of these degrees is that they confer voting rights in University elections. For academic purposes, they are considered equivalent to BA/BSc degrees of other universities.
Scottish MA
Although the science faculties of Scottish universities award the BSc degree, the standard first degree in Arts faculties (at the four ancient universities) is the Master of Arts (MA). This is equivalent to a BA from an English university.
