Master of Arts

In Canada and the United States, the Master of Arts (Magister Artium) and Master of Science (Magister Scientiæ) are the basic graduate-level degrees in most subjects and may be course-based, research-based, or, more typically, a combination of the two.

Admission to a master’s program is normally contingent upon holding a bachelor’s degree. Some programs provide for a joint bachelor’s and master’s after about five years.Some universities use the Latin degree names, such as Artium Magister (AM) or Scientiæ Magister (SM). For example, Harvard University, Dartmouth College, the University of Chicago, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown University use the abbreviations AM and SM for some of their master’s degrees.A Master of Arts may be given in a scientific discipline, common at Ivy League universities.