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In the universities of
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, and
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Bachelors of Arts (BAs) are promoted to the rank of Master of Arts (MA), typically upon application after three or four years after graduation. No further examination or study is required for this promotion, which is a mark of seniority rather than an additional postgraduate qualification. According to the formula of '' ad eundem gradum'', the graduates of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin are eligible to apply to incorporate and be granted equivalent
academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...
s at any of the other two universities, provided that they wish to register for such a degree or are members of the academic staff; they also pay a required fee. The example of the " Steamboat ladies" (roughly 720 women graduates of both Oxford and Cambridge who received Dublin academic degrees) is one of the most popular incidents of incorporation. While not an earned degree, both the original degree(s) and the incorporated ''ad eundem'' degree(s) are given in
post-nominals Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...
listed in the Oxford University Calendar. While these universities also award postgraduate masters' degrees that require further study and examination, they do not award the title 'MA' for any postgraduate degree. This practice differs from that of most universities worldwide, where the MA reflects further postgraduate study. As a result, these degrees are often referred to as the Oxford and Cambridge MA and the Dublin or Trinity MA, to distinguish them. Similarly, in the ancient Scottish universities, the degree of
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
is awarded as an
undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher ed ...
in certain subjects. Upon promotion to MA, graduates no longer wear the academic dress or use the post-nominal letters associated with Bachelors of Arts.


History and rationale

This system dates back to the Middle Ages, when the study of the liberal arts typically took seven years. At that time, students often entered universities at a much younger age than is common today, sometimes as young as 13 or 14. The basic university education comprised the
Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolin ...
(grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic) and the Quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music), which together took about seven years of full-time study. During this period, a student would first earn a baccalaureate, or
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
, after completing part of his studies. The division between the trivium and quadrivium did not always correspond to the division between the BA and MA degrees, though it was adopted at Cambridge during the Tudor period and remained in place long after other European universities had moved away from it. At the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, the baccalaureate was awarded soon after responsions (the matriculation exam), while at Oxford and Cambridge the BA was granted much later and became more significant over time. Upon being admitted to the degree of Master of Arts, a student would become a full member of the university and gain the right to vote in the Convocation. The new MA could then teach at the university for a set number of years, during which time they were referred to as a 'regent' or 'regent master.' Upon completing this period of teaching, they would become a 'non-regent master' and either leave the university or remain to pursue further studies in one of the higher faculties—Divinity, Canon or Civil Law, or Medicine. Over time, it became possible to study in these higher faculties as a BA, although a graduate could not be promoted to a higher degree until they had the seniority required to become an MA. As the requirements for the BA increased, the requirements for the MA gradually diminished. By the 18th century, the practice had largely become a formality, and students could meet residency requirements (once fulfilled by attending lectures) simply by keeping their names on the college books. In 1800, Oxford introduced modern-style examinations for the BA and MA degrees, but the MA examination was abolished in 1807. From at least the 16th century, noblemen formed the most select group of undergraduates, paying four times the normal fees and sometimes receiving an MA degree after just two years of residence, without completing the BA degree. However, many did not stay long enough to graduate. Noblemen were distinguished by gold tassels on their mortarboard caps, compared to the black ones worn by students of lower social ranks. Students of the next rank— fellow-commoners at Cambridge and Dublin or gentlemen commoners at Oxford—paid twice the standard fees, dined with the fellows, and were exempt from attending lectures and performing exercises required for the BA. They could graduate a year earlier than students in lower ranks. However, at Cambridge, both higher categories were still required to take the Senate House Examination to receive an honours degree. Below these were commoners at Oxford or pensioners at Cambridge and Dublin, who paid the standard fees and were more likely to remain and graduate. At the bottom were servitors at Oxford and sizars at Cambridge and Dublin, who had their fees subsidized by the college in exchange for menial duties. Oliver Goldsmith was a sizar;
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
was a subsizar. These distinctions were gradually phased out during the 19th century. Reforms in the late 16th century allowed some ordinary undergraduates to bypass the BA stage altogether. Previously, it was necessary to wait three years after earning a BA to become a bachelor of laws or medicine, but after paying a fine, students could leave college after three years of residence to study at the Inns of Court or a teaching hospital, and return for a professional bachelor's degree, as was the case with
William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, Justice (title), justice, and Tory (British political party), Tory politician most noted for his ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', which became the best-k ...
. Until 1865, all students at
King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...
were from
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
and could graduate BA and later MA without taking university exams. Similarly, students at
New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
, who all came from
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
, had the same exemptions until 1834. Although the length of undergraduate degree programs has been reduced to three or four years in all subjects, the MA degree at Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin is still awarded roughly seven years after matriculation. This reflects the fact that much of the liberal arts education has been transferred to
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
s, with students now entering university at an older age, typically between 17 and 19. (In France, the school-leaving certificate is still called the
baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
.)
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
(which awarded its first MA in 1838) and the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
(first MA awarded in 1840) broke away from the ancient English model by treating the MA as a distinct higher degree, awarded after further examination. However, by instituting further study beyond the initial baccalaureate, these universities can be seen to have reverted to the ancient model. Most modern universities followed their lead, with the Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin system becoming the exception. Some universities adopted the ancient model temporarily, allowing progression within the same faculty, such as from BSc to MSc, but later switched to the newer system. Among the " steamboat ladies" (female students at Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded ''ad eundem'' degrees by the University of Dublin between 1904 and 1907, at a time when their own universities refused to confer degrees upon women), some, like Julia Bell, earned MAs.


Historical examples at other universities

While today only Cambridge, Oxford, and Trinity College, Dublin promote students to the degree of Master of Arts three years after graduation, this was a practice at other colleges before the 20th century. Although
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
recognised the MA as higher degree, its regulation, at least until the 1940s, stipulates that Bachelor of Arts may be admitted to the degree of Master of Arts without further examination provided that they have been placed in the first or second class in the Final Honours Examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts of nine terms’ standing (three years), or six terms’ (two years) standing of Bachelor of Architecture. The regulation also states that Bachelor of Arts, having passed examination of other Bachelor’s degree of the university except Music or a Diploma in Theology may also be admitted an MA without further studies and examination. In the United States,
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
engaged in this practice from the mid-1600s until 1872. At Yale University, an MA without examination was an award from its foundation until 1871. Likewise,
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
awarded the Master of Arts in this manner from its origins as King's College, during which, in 1761, three of the five members of the original graduating class of 1758 were promoted to Master of Arts. The practice was abolished by the Board of Trustees in June 1880, when a formal exam for the Master of Arts was introduced. Other American colleges, during the mid to late 1800s, awarded a Master of Arts "in course" to graduates of three years standing, including at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
and Union College.


Requirements

At Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, a Bachelor of Arts graduate may "incept" as a Master of Arts after a certain period, without further examination or residence but sometimes upon payment of a fee. * At Oxford, the MA can be conferred after the twenty-first term following
matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...
(typically seven years after entering the university) upon holders of an Oxford BA or
Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...
(BFA). Holders of other undergraduate Oxford degrees, such as Bachelor of Theology or Master of Mathematics, are not entitled to the MA. * At Cambridge, the MA may be conferred six years after the first term in residence upon holders of a Cambridge BA. The previous rule that the BA must be held for two years before applying for the MA was suspended for many due to delays caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The MA can also be awarded to senior university or college staff after three years of employment. * At Dublin, the MA may be conferred on holders of a Dublin BA after three years, provided they have completed at least nine terms of residence. A fee is payable, though it is waived for graduates of over fifty years' standing. There are other situations in which the MA may be awarded, such as to members of staff, but these are the most common. Specific regulations can be found in the statutes of the respective universities. In accordance with the formula of '' ad eundem gradum'', a form of mutual recognition among the three universities, a graduate entitled to an MA degree from one institution may have the equivalent title conferred by one of the other two without further examination.


Post-nominal style

Masters of Arts of the three universities may use the
post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...
"MA". Although honours are sometimes awarded for the examinations leading to the BA degree, the style "MA (Hons)" is not used. The Latin abbreviation of the university (Oxon, Cantab or Dubl) is often appended in brackets e.g. "John Smith, MA (Cantab)". Additionally, the BA degree is not shown alongside the MA award; only the MA should be used. If someone incorporates from one of the above universities to another, the Latin ''et'' can be inserted between the university names, e.g. "MA (Oxon et Cantab)", etc. as opposed to "MA (Oxon), MA (Cantab)" which would indicate that the holder graduated MA at both universities. The Oxford ''University Gazette'' and ''University Calendar'' have, since 2007, used Oxf rather than Oxon (also Camb rather than Cantab and Dub rather than Dubl) to match the style used for other universities.


Rights and privileges

The degree of Master of Arts traditionally carried various rights and privileges, the chief of which was membership of the legislative bodies of the universities –
Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...
at Oxford and the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
at Cambridge and Dublin. These were originally important decision-making bodies, approving changes to the statutes of the universities and electing various officials, including the two members of Parliament for each university. Inception to the MA degree was the principal way of becoming a member of these bodies, though it is not the only way, e.g. at Oxford Doctors of Divinity, Medicine and Civil Law were always also automatically members of Convocation. Today, the main role of Convocation and Senate is the election of the
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of each university as well as the Professor of Poetry at Oxford and the High Steward at Cambridge. The privileges accorded to MAs and other members of Convocation/Senate were formerly very important. At Oxford, until 1998 the
Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...
s only had the power to discipline "junior members" (those who had not been admitted to membership of Convocation), which meant that any graduate student who had incepted as an MA was immune from their authority. At Cambridge, MAs and those with MA status continue to be exempt from the rules governing the ownership of motor vehicles by students. Other privileges intended for academic staff and alumni, e.g. the right to dine at High Table, to attend Gaudies, to walk upon college lawns, etc., are in most colleges restricted to MAs, which excludes the majority of graduate students. For Cambridge, membership of the Senate is no longer limited to the MA and in 2000, Oxford opened membership of Convocation to all graduates. For Dublin, the right to elect senators to the upper house of the Irish parliament,
Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...
, is now restricted to those who are Irish citizens and since 1918 the franchise was extended to include all graduates, not only those with an MA.


Precedence

The MA degree gives its holder a particular status in the universities' orders of precedence/seniority. In the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
a Master of Arts enjoys precedence, standing, and rank before all doctors, masters, and bachelors of the university who are not Masters of Arts, apart from
Doctors of Divinity Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...
and Doctors of Civil Law. Precedence, standing, and rank were formerly important for determining eligibility for appointments such as fellowships, but now generally have only a ceremonial significance.


MA status

In Oxford, until 2000 the university statutes required that all members of Congregation (the academic and senior staff of the university) have at least the degree of DD, DM, DCL or MA or have MA status. This linked back to the MA as the licence to teach in the university. MA status was thus routinely granted to academics from other universities who came to take up positions within the university; while it is no longer granted in this way, many members of Congregation appointed before 2000 retain MA status. In Cambridge, the status of MA is automatically accorded to graduates of other universities studying in Cambridge who are aged 24 or older (graduate students under 24 years are given BA status). This entitles them to wear the appropriate Cambridge gown, but without strings. For the above cases, the status is not a degree so is automatically relinquished upon leaving the University (in the case of Oxford) or completion of their degree (for Cambridge).


Criticism

In 2000, research by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education showed that 62% of employers were unaware that the Cambridge MA did not represent any kind of postgraduate achievement involving study. The same survey found widespread ignorance amongst employers regarding university-level qualifications in general: 51% believed the
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
MA to be a postgraduate qualification, 22% were unaware that a Doctorate in Business Administration was a higher qualification than an undergraduate
Diploma of Higher Education A Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Overview United Kingdom The Diploma is awarded after two years of full-time study (or equivalent) at a university or other higher educa ...
, and 40% thought that a BA or BSc was a postgraduate degree. In February 2011, the then Labour MP for Nottingham East, Chris Leslie, sponsored a private member's bill, the ''Master's Degrees (Minimum Standards) Bill 2010–12'', to "prohibit universities awarding Master's degrees unless certain standards of study and assessment are met". The bill's second reading debate occurred on 21 October 2011, but ran out of time. In Ireland, the Master of Arts at Trinity College, Dublin, is not registered with or approved by Quality and Qualifications Ireland, the national agency responsible for academic qualifications in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.


See also

* ''Ad eundem'' degree * Wooden spoon (award) *
Wrangler (University of Cambridge) At the University of Cambridge in England, a "Wrangler" is a student who gains first-class honours in the Mathematical Tripos competition. The highest-scoring student is the Senior Wrangler, the second highest is the Second Wrangler, and so on. ...


References


External links


Ordinances of the University of Cambridge regarding Master of Arts degreeUniversity of Oxford, Regulations for the Degree of Master of Arts

The Oxford MA
New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

University of Dublin, Degrees and DiplomasOxbridge MA degrees under threat (BBC website)
{{Academic degrees
Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...
Terminology of the University of Cambridge Terminology of the University of Oxford University of Dublin