What is "master of arts"

Degree \De*gree"\, n. [F. degr['e], OF. degret, fr. LL. degradare. See Degrade.]

1. A step, stair, or staircase. [Obs.]

   By ladders, or else by degree.
   --Rom. of R.

2. One of a series of progressive steps upward or downward, in quality, rank, acquirement, and the like; a stage in progression; grade; gradation; as, degrees of vice and virtue; to advance by slow degrees; degree of comparison.

3. The point or step of progression to which a person has arrived; rank or station in life; position. ``A dame of high degree.''
   --Dryden. ``A knight is your degree.''
   --Shak. ``Lord or lady of high degree.''
   --Lowell.

4. Measure of advancement; quality; extent; as, tastes differ in kind as well as in degree.

   The degree of excellence which proclaims genius, is different in different times and different places.
   --Sir. J. Reynolds.

5. Grade or rank to which scholars are admitted by a college or university, in recognition of their attainments; also, (informal) the diploma provided by an educational institution attesting to the achievement of that rank; as, the degree of bachelor of arts, master, doctor, etc.; to hang one's degrees on the office wall.

   Note: In the United States diplomas are usually given as the evidence of a degree conferred. In the humanities the first degree is that of bachelor of arts (B. A. or A. B.); the second that of master of arts (M. A. or A. M.). The degree of bachelor (of arts, science, divinity, law, etc.) is conferred upon those who complete a prescribed course of undergraduate study. The first degree in medicine is that of doctor of medicine (M. D.). The degrees of master and doctor are also conferred, in course, upon those who have completed certain prescribed postgraduate studies, as doctor of philosophy (Ph. D.); the degree of doctor is also conferred as a complimentary recognition of eminent services in science or letters, or for public services or distinction (as doctor of laws (LL. D.) or doctor of divinity (D. D.), when they are called honorary degrees.

   The youth attained his bachelor's degree, and left the university.
   --Macaulay.

6. (Genealogy) A certain distance or remove in the line of descent, determining the proximity of blood; one remove in the chain of relationship; as, a relation in the third or fourth degree.

   In the 11th century an opinion began to gain ground in Italy, that third cousins might marry, being in the seventh degree according to the civil law.
   --Hallam.

7. (Arith.) Three figures taken together in numeration; thus, 140 is one degree, 222,140 two degrees.

8. (Algebra) State as indicated by sum of exponents; more particularly, the degree of a term is indicated by the sum of the exponents of its literal factors; thus, a^ 2b^ 3c is a term of the sixth degree. The degree of a power, or radical, is denoted by its index, that of an equation by the greatest sum of the exponents of the unknown quantities in any term; thus, ax^ 4 + bx^ 2 = c, and mx^ 2y^ 2 + nyx = p, are both equations of the fourth degree.

9. (Trig.) A 360th part of the circumference of a circle, which part is taken as the principal unit of measure for arcs and angles. The degree is divided into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds.

10. A division, space, or interval, marked on a mathematical or other instrument, as on a thermometer.

11. (Mus.) A line or space of the staff.

    Note: The short lines and their spaces are added degrees.

    Accumulation of degrees. (Eng. Univ.) See under Accumulation.

    By degrees, step by step; by little and little; by moderate advances. ``I'll leave it by degrees.''
    --Shak.

    Degree of a curve or Degree of a surface (Geom.), the number which expresses the degree of the equation of the curve or surface in rectilinear co["o]rdinates. A straight line will, in general, meet the curve or surface in a number of points equal to the degree of the curve or surface and no more.

    Degree of latitude (Geog.), on the earth, the distance on a meridian between two parallels of latitude whose latitudes differ from each other by one degree. This distance is not the same on different parts of a meridian, on account of the flattened figure of the earth, being 68.702 statute miles at the equator, and 69.396 at the poles.

    Degree of longitude, the distance on a parallel of latitude between two meridians that make an angle of one degree with each other at the poles -- a distance which varies as the cosine of the latitude, being at the equator 69.16 statute miles.

    To a degree, to an extreme; exceedingly; as, mendacious to a degree.

    It has been said that Scotsmen . . . are . . . grave to a degree on occasions when races more favored by nature are gladsome to excess.
    --Prof. Wilson.

A Master of Arts is a high academic degree offered at many universities in Europe, the United States and other countries.

A Master of Arts, Magister Artium, or Magister in Artibus may also refer to:

• Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin), a degree at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, or the University of Dublin (Trinity College)
• Master of Arts (Scotland), a first degree at the ancient universities of Scotland
• Master craftsman, a person who has demonstrated mastery over an art

In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts with Honours of these universities are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts (MA) on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university (including years as an undergraduate). As such, it is an academic rank, and not a postgraduate qualification. No further examination or study is required for this promotion.

This practice differs from most other universities worldwide, at which the degree reflects further postgraduate study or achievement. These degrees are therefore sometimes referred to as the Oxford and Cambridge MA and the Dublin or Trinity MA, to draw attention to the difference. However, as with gaining a postgraduate degree from another university, once incepted and promoted to a Master, the graduate no longer wears the academic dress or uses the post-nominal letters pertaining to a Bachelor of Arts, being no longer of that rank: i.e. the Master of Arts degree is not awarded separately (for instance, in addition to that of Bachelor of Arts), but rather the new rank is rather treated as a conversion of one degree to another.

All three universities have other masters' (i.e. postgraduate) degrees that require further study and examination, but these have other titles, such as Master of Letters (MLitt), Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Master of Studies (MSt), Master of Engineering (MEng), and Master of Science (MSc).

In the ancient universities of Scotland, a degree with the same name is awarded as a first degree to graduates in certain subjects (see Master of Arts (Scotland)).

The degree of Master of Arts in Scotland typically refers to a four-year undergraduate Honours degree in the arts, humanities or social sciences awarded by one of the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh - plus the University of Dundee (as a result of its history as a constituent college of the University of St Andrews) and Heriot-Watt University. The first two years of the Scottish Master of Arts consist of ordinary Bachelor level courses; however, after these, students who are accepted to pursue the Honours route will complete more advanced subjects and write a dissertation in their fourth year. Students who choose to do a "general" degree will complete their third year at a lower level of specialisation, and receive a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or an MA without Honours. For the postgraduate degree referred to in other places as "Master of Arts", Scottish universities usually award the degree of Master of Letters (MLitt). Generally, non-ancient universities in Scotland (e.g. University of Strathclyde, The Robert Gordon University, University of the Highlands and Islands, etc.), award arts degrees as Bachelor of Arts.

A Master of Arts (; abbreviated M.A., MA; also , abbreviated A.M., or AM) is a type of master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with the Master of Science degree. Those admitted to the degree typically study English, History, Communication, International Relations, International Business Administration, European Studies or other of the Humanities, Philosophy and Social Sciences; however, different universities have different conventions and may also offer the degree for fields typically considered within the natural sciences and mathematics. The degree can be conferred in respect of completing courses and passing examinations, in respect of research, or a combination of the two.

The Master of Arts degree traces its origin to the teaching license, or Licentia docendi, for the University of Paris.