15 ms·

Probably a case of this: >In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Art

by foldr 3y ago

Probably a case of this: >In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts 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). It is an academic rank indicating seniority, and not an additional postgraduate qualification, and within the universities there are in fact no postgraduate degrees which result in the postnominals 'MA'.[1] No further examination or study is required for this promotion and it is equivalent to undergraduate degrees awarded by other universities. If he upgraded the degree to an MA then what he said was technically true. TBH I'm not sure why anyone would care about the difference between a BA and a masters. In the UK it's only an additional year of study even for a 'real' masters in most instances.

Kon-Peki 3y ago
Ha, that's exactly how it worked for the first ~250 years at Harvard... 'Five dollars and three years out of jail' was how they described getting a master's degree back then.
rsynnott 3y ago
That wouldn't generally be considered to be a masters in any particular subject, though; I went to the University of Dublin (more commonly known as Trinity College Dublin) and am even, I suppose, eligible for the MA promotion (you have to apply, though; it's not automatic), but I never heard of anyone who'd done it claiming to have, well, a _proper_ masters. > TBH I'm not sure why anyone would care about the difference between a BA and a masters. In the UK it's only an additional year of study even for a 'real' masters in most instances. Yes, they probably shouldn't care about the difference, but the, er, technical truth is a pretty negative signal about the teller of technical truths. (As I say, I don't think it's really a technical truth; someone who'd done that could claim to have a masters, but not to have a masters in maths).

by foldr 3y ago

Kon-Peki 3y ago

Ha, that's exactly how it worked for the first ~250 years at Harvard... 'Five dollars and three years out of jail' was how they described getting a master's degree back then.

rsynnott 3y ago

That wouldn't generally be considered to be a masters in any particular subject, though; I went to the University of Dublin (more commonly known as Trinity College Dublin) and am even, I suppose, eligible for the MA promotion (you have to apply, though; it's not automatic), but I never heard of anyone who'd done it claiming to have, well, a _proper_ masters. > TBH I'm not sure why anyone would care about the difference between a BA and a masters. In the UK it's only an additional year of study even for a 'real' masters in most instances. Yes, they probably shouldn't care about the difference, but the, er, technical truth is a pretty negative signal about the teller of technical truths. (As I say, I don't think it's really a technical truth; someone who'd done that could claim to have a masters, but not to have a masters in maths).