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master's degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate (or graduate) course of one to three years in duration. In the recently standardized European system of higher education diplomas, it corresponds to a one-year or two-year graduate program to be entered after three years of undergraduate studies to obtain a higher qualification for employment purposes or in preparation for doctoral studies. In the United States of America and Canada, the master's is normally a one to two year course entered after four years of undergraduate study (leading to the bachelor's degree), and is similarly required for licensing in many professions, or in preparation for the doctorate. Master's degrees are often entitled magister, which is Latin for master (teacher). In some languages, magister or its cognate is the word used for person who has the degree. The Master of Arts (Magister Artium) and Master of Science (Magister Scientiæ) degrees are the basic degree types in most subjects, and may be either entirely course-based or entirely research-based, or (more typically) a mixture. Admission to a master's program normally requires holding a bachelor's degree (in Canada an 'honours' bachelor degree) although in some cases relevant work experience can qualify a candidate, and progressing to a doctoral program often requires a master's degree. In some fields or graduate programs, work on a doctorate begins immediately after the bachelor's degree. Some programs provide for a joint bachelor's and master's degree after about five years. Some universities use the Latin degree names, and because of the flexibility of word order in Latin, Artium Magister (A.M.) or Scientiæ Magister (S.M.) may be used; Harvard University, for instance, uses A.M. and S.M. for its master's degrees and MIT uses S.M. for its master of science degrees. The Master of Science degree usually is abbreviated MS in the USA and MSc in British Commonwealth nations and Europe. |
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