Master's degree

A master's degree, or masters degree in British English (from Latin magister), is an academic degree awarded by universities upon completion of a course of study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. Within the area studied, graduates are posited 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. The master's degree may qualify the holder to teach at a college or university in certain disciplines.

Titles

The two most common titles of master's degrees are the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Science (M.S., M.Sc., M.Si., or M.C.A.) degrees; these may be course-based, research-based, or a mixture of the two. Some universities use the Latin degree names; because of the flexibility of syntax in Latin, the Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees may be known as Magister artium or Artium magister and Magister scientiæ or Scientiæ magister, respectively. Harvard University, University of Chicago, and MIT, for example, use A.M. and S.M. for their master's degrees. More commonly, Master of Science often is abbreviated MS or M.S. in the United States, and MSc or M.Sc. in Commonwealth nations and Europe.