Master's degree in Europe

The Bologna process for standardisation of European higher education specified an undergraduate degree of at least three years called the "licence" or bachelor's degree, followed by a two-year diploma called the master's degree, then a doctorate, meant to be obtained in at least three years. Because of these indicated schedules, the reform is sometimes (erroneously) referred to as "3-5-8". The system applies to the European Higher Education Area.

European Master's Market

Through the Bologna initiatives and support of the European Union, Europe is unifying and standardising especially the structure of their masters' programmes, making them more and more accessible to foreign students.

An often cited advantage of the European universities is an advantageous cost/quality ratio. In Europe, especially continental Europe, universities are heavily subsidized by their national governments. In Germany, Scandinavia or Eastern Europe for instance, most masters programmes are totally free of charge. Recently, these governments are discussing the introduction of tuition fees. Sweden started charging tuition for non-EU students in 2010.

In the recent publication of the Times Higher Education Supplement, 36 of the top 100 universities in the world are located in Europe. There are large regional differences in the tuition fees in those top 100 universities:

Austria

Main article: Diplom

In Austria, one obtains a bachelor's degree after 3 years of study and a master's degree after 2 more years of study. This is true for both the "research-oriented university" sector as well as the "university of applied sciences" sector which had been established in the 1990s.

Medicine and dentistry pose an exception; these studies are not divided into bachelor's and master's degree, but take 6 years to complete and the degree obtained is called "Dr. med." (However this is not an equivalent to other doctoral degrees, as one writes a "diploma thesis" and not a "doctoral thesis" or "dissertation".)

In addition to traditional master's degrees, Austrian universities also offer the Master of Advanced Studies which is a non-consecutive continuing education degree the degree. MAS programs tend to be interdisciplinary and tend to be focused toward meeting the needs of professionals rather than academics.

Before the Bologna process, the traditional Austrian equivalent to the master's degree was the Diplomstudium, leading to the title Diplom-Ingenieur (female title: Diplom-Ingenieurin)(Abbreviation: "Dipl.-Ing." or "DI") in engineering or Magister (female: Magistra)(Abbreviation: "Mag.") in almost every discipline. The Diplomstudium took about 4–6 years of study.

Belgium

In Belgium, possessing a master's degree means that one has completed a higher education (usually university or college) programme of 4 or 5 years. Before the Bologna process most university degrees required 4 years of studies (leading to a licence), but some programmes required 5 years of study. An example in the field of education in business/management was the 5-year programme of "Handelsingenieur" (Dutch) or "Ingénieur de Gestion" (French) (English: "Commercial Engineer") with an important amount of mathematics and sciences, and which corresponds to an M.Sc. in Management. This degree co-existed with a graduate degree in business economics (4 years) named "Licentiaat in toegepaste economische wetenschappen" (Dutch) or "Licence en sciences économiques appliquées" (French) (English: "Licence in applied economics").

Denmark

In Denmark, a Master's degree is awarded. The MA and M.Sc. degrees and other master's degrees are distinguished. The MA and M.Sc. degrees are similar to a traditional Master's Programme, which are obtained by completing a higher education with a typical duration of five years on an accredited Danish university. Other master's degrees can be taken on an accredited Danish university, but these are made as adult (part-time) education such as the Master of IT (abbreviated M. IT) degree.

A large number of subdivisions exist, usually designating the area of education (e.g. cand.theol., cand.arch. and cand.jur.), though some have more vague definitions (cand.mag., cand.scient., cand.polyt., and cand.scient.techn., each of which encompass broad, overlapping areas of science).

The Bologna process has widely prompted master's degree education to consist of either 120 ECTS or 180 ECTS credit cycles, where one academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS-credits that are equivalent to 1,500–1,800 hours of study. In most cases, these will take 2 to 3 years respectively to complete.

• 1st cycle: typically 180–240 ECTS credits, usually awarding a bachelor's degree. The European Higher Education Area did not introduce the Bachelor with Honours programme, which allows graduates with a "BA hons." degree.
• 2nd cycle: typically 90–120 ECTS credits (a minimum of 60 on 2nd-cycle level). Usually awarding a master's degree.

Finland

In Finland, the introduction of the Bologna Process has standardized most of the degrees into the European model. The master's degree takes 2–3 years (120 ECTS units) after the bachelor's degree. In English-speaking usage, the degree title is named after the particular faculty of study. In Finnish, the degree is called maisteri in most fields. When precision is needed, the term ylempi korkeakoulututkinto is used to denote all degrees of Master's level. Literally, this translates into English as higher diploma of higher education.

Medicine-related fields of medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine pose an exception to Bologna system. In medical fields, the Licenciate (Finnish: lisensiaatti, Swedish: licensiat) is an equivalent degree, the completion of which takes five (dentistry) or six years (medicine and veterinary), while the Bachelor of Medicine's degree (Finnish: lääketieteen kandidaatti) is gained after second year of studies. In fields other than medicine, the Licentiate's degree is a post-graduate degree higher than Master's but lower than doctor's.

In Engineering, the higher degree is either diplomi-insinööri (Swedish: diplomingenjör, literally "Engineer with diploma") or arkkitehti (Swedish: arkitekt, English: Architect) although in international use MSc is used. In Pharmacy, the degree is proviisori (Swedish: provisor). All such degrees retaining their historical name are classified as master's degrees (ylempi korkeakoulututkinto) and in English usage, they are always translated as master's degrees. Some other master's degrees give the right to use the traditional title of the degree-holder. Most importantly, the degree of Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration gives the right to use the title of ekonomi, while the Masters of Science in Agriculture and Forestry may use the titles of metsänhoitaja (Forester) or agronomi (Agronomist) depending on their field of study.

France

In France and many countries which follow the French model (like the Francophone regions in Switzerland, Belgium, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), higher education is divided in three tiers (cycles universitaires), leading to different degrees. The master's degree corresponds to the second tier. A master's degree is awarded to the holders of

• master's diploma (diplôme de master). It is the more common master's degree. It is awarded mainly by universities in two principal qualifications
  • Master of Research (master recherche) the science-oriented degree, necessary step to proceed to doctoral studies. It can be a largely research degree, a taught one or a mix between the two.
  • vocational master (master professionnel) aimed at gaining working qualification. Usually a taught degree with internship required.
• grandes écoles diploma. Not all grandes écoles diplomas programs are accredited by the State. Some grandes écoles deliver also master's diplomas, but their own diploma remains more prestigious.
• Engineer's degree.
• Architect's degree.
• Some degrees from Schools of Fine Arts.

France is also host to a number of private American-style universities like The American University of Paris or Schiller International University, that offer accredited American master's degrees in Europe. Admission into these Master's programs requires a completed American undergraduate degree or a similar French/European degree that can be acquired in four years of study.

Germany

Due to the EU-wide Bologna process, the traditional German academic degrees Diplom and Magister have mostly been replaced by the undergraduate Bachelor (3-4 year study programme) and postgraduate Master's degree (1-2 year study programme).

In Germany the Diplom (first degree after (usually) 4–6 years - from either a Universität (University), a Technische Hochschule or a Kunsthochschule with university status) and the Magister had traditionally been equivalated to the master's degree, the Magister being a degree after the study of two or three subjects (one main and one or two subsidiary subjects), as common in Humanities or Liberal Arts, whereas the Diplom is awarded after the study of one subject, commonly found in Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Formal sciences and some Applied Sciences. The Fachhochschulen or Universities of Applied Sciences conferred the Diplom (FH), whose length of study is between the bachelor's and master's degree.

Under the harmonised system there is no legal academic difference between the bachelor's and master's degrees conferred by the Fachhochschulen and Universitäten.

The German Meister qualification for a master craftsman is neither a degree nor is it comparable to the academic master's degree. It, however, qualifies the holder to study at a University or Fachhochschule, whether the Meister holds the regular entry qualification (Abitur or Fachhochschulreife) or not.

Ireland

Postgraduate master's degrees in Ireland can either be taught degrees involving lectures, examination and a short dissertation, or research degrees. They usually are one of: MA (except Trinity College Dublin, where this is an undergraduate degree awarded 21 terms after matriculation such as in MAs awarded by the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and University of Dublin) or MA, M.Sc., MBA, MAI, ME/MEng/MEngSc, MPhil, LLM, MLitt, MArch, MAgrSc, MSocSc, MCH, MAcc, MEconSc.

With respect to NUI post graduate qualifications, in general there is a simple distinction between MA and MPhil. An MA is a combination of taught (classroom) and research-based modules, whilst an MPhil is composed exclusively of research-based learning.

The Magister in Arte Ingeniaria (MAI), literally meaning 'Master in the Art of Engineering', is awarded by the University of Dublin, Ireland, and is more usually referred to as Master of Engineering. While still available (via two routes), historically it was the engineering master's degree taken by the university's BAI graduates. Today the more common engineering master's degree in the University of Dublin is the M.Sc..

A Master of Business Studies (MBS) refers to a qualification in the degree of master that can be obtained by students of recognized universities and colleges who complete the relevant approved programmes of study, pass the prescribed examinations, and fulfil all other prescribed conditions. An MBS can be studied in the following areas: Electronic Business, Finance, Human Resource Management, International Business, Management Information System, Management & Organisation Studies, Management Consultancy, Marketing, Project Management, Strategic Management & Planning and can be obtained from many universities in Ireland including University College Dublin.

The other universities in Ireland usually award a MEngSc, M.E., MEng or M.Sc. for their postgraduate master's degree in engineering.

Italy

The old university system (Vecchio Ordinamento) consisted in a unique course, extended from four to five years or maximum of six (only Medicine), with a variable period (six-twelve months usually) for the thesis work. After the thesis discussion, students got the Master's Degree, simply called Laurea.

This system was reformed in 1999/2000 to comply to the Bologna process directives. The new university system (Nuovo Ordinamento) includes two levels of degrees: a three-year Bachelor's degree, called Laurea di Primo Livello or just Laurea (e.g. Laurea di Primo Livello in Ingegneria Elettronica is Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering) and a two-year course of specialization, leading to a master's degree called Laurea di Secondo Livello, Laurea Magistrale (e.g. Laurea Specialistica in Ingegneria Elettronica is Master of Science in Electronic Engineering). Both degrees include a thesis work with final discussion.

A student can apply for the Ph.D. level course, called Dottorato di Ricerca, only after getting a Master's degree.

Medicine and some other school ("Facoltà"), notably Law, have adopted the reformed system only partially, keeping the previous unique course. Medicine is therefore still a six-year course followed, possibly, by the specialization, requiring from three to six years more.

However, these Facoltà also have other courses organized according to the new system (e.g., Tecniche di radiologia medica for Medicine, Consulente del lavoro for Law)

Netherlands

In 2002, the Dutch degree system was changed to abide by international standards. This process was complicated by the fact that the Dutch higher education system has two separate branches, Hoger Beroeps Onderwijs (HBO, which indicates College or "University of Professional Education" level), and Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (WO, which indicates University level). HBO level education focuses more on practical and professional education while WO is academic and scientific.

Before the Bachelor/Master system was introduced, HBO graduates received the title baccalaureus (with the corresponding pre-nominal abbreviation "bc."), which was rarely used. On the other hand, the HBO graduates with an engineering degree used the degree ingenieur, with pre-nominal abbreviation "ing.", which was (and still is) used quite commonly. WO degrees consisted of several different titles, such as doctorandus (pre-nominal abbreviated to drs., corresponds to MA or MSc), ingenieur (ir. for WO level, corresponds to MSc) and meester in de rechten (mr., corresponds to LL.M.) These former titles are no longer granted (although they are still used, protected, and interchangeable with MA and MSc titles). The title of doctor (dr., corresponding to the PhD degree) is still awarded.

Prior to the education reform, a single program leading to the doctorandus, ingenieur or meester degree was in effect, which comprised the same course load as the Bachelor and Master programs put together. Those who had already started the doctorandus, ingenieur or meester program could, upon completing it, opt for the old degree (before their name), or simply use the master's degree (behind their name) in accordance with the new standard. Since these graduates do not have a separate bachelor's degree (which is in fact – in retrospect – incorporated into the program), the master's degree is their first academic degree.

In the new system, completed college (HBO) degrees are equivalent to a bachelor's degree and are abbreviated to "B" with a subject suffix. Universities (WO) grant a bachelor's degree for the general portion of the curriculum. This degree is a "Bachelor of Science" or "Bachelor of Arts" with the appropriate suffix.

Before one is admitted to a Master's program, one must have obtained a bachelor's degree in the same field of study at the same level (although exceptions to this rule are possible, if the bachelor's degree has nearly been obtained). This means that someone with a HBO Bachelor's degree cannot start a WO Master program; still, many universities offer a so-called 'bridge year', in which HBO degree holders can attain the WO Bachelor and continue into the WO Master program.

All fully completed curricula in the Netherlands are equivalent to master's degrees with the addition of a "of Science" or "of Arts" to distinguish them from HBO Master's degrees, which are known simply as Master. WO Master's degrees focus on specialization in a sub-area of the general bachelor's degree subject and typically take 1 year except for research masters, engineering studies and medical school where the Master takes 2, 2 and 3 years, respectively.

HBO Master's are usually started only after several years of work and are similarly focusses on specialization. The title is signified by the abbreviation M and therefore an MBA would indicate a HBO Master's degree in business administration, but use of the MBA title is protected and it can only be granted by accredited schools.

Norway

As a result of the Bologna-process and the Quality reform, the degree system of Norwegian higher education consists of the two main levels Bachelor's degree and Master's degree. A Bachelor's degree at a Norwegian university/university college is equivalent to an undergraduate degree and takes three years (with the exception of the teaching courses, where a bachelor's degree lasts for four years). The master's degrees are either fully integrated five-year programmes (admission does not require undergraduate degree) leading up to a graduate degree, or two-year courses at graduate level which require an already completed undergraduate degree. Following the graduate level, education is given at the doctoral level, usually through a four-year research fellowship leading to a PhD.

Before the implementation of this system, various titles were given in accordance with the field of study and the length of the course. For instance, a three-year undergraduate degree in engineering would give the title "høgskoleingeniør" (Bachelor's degree), and a 4,5 to 5 year graduate degree in engineering would give the title "sivilingeniør" (Master's degree). That being said, these titles are still very common and are, although formally abolished, degrees granted earlier are still being used, also by academic personnel.

Poland

Currently there are two models of higher education in Poland.

In the traditional model, a master's degree is awarded after completion of a university curriculum — a 5-year programme in science courses at a university or other similar institution, with a project in the final year called magisterium (it can be translated as a Master of Arts or a Master of Science thesis) that often requires carrying out research in a given field. An MA degree is called a magister (abbreviated mgr) except for medical education, where it is called a lekarz (this gives the holder the right to use the title of physician and surgeon), a lekarz weterynarii in the veterinary field and a dentysta in field of dentistry. Universities of technology usually give the title of magister inżynier (abbreviated mgr inż.) corresponding to an MSc Eng degree.

More and more institutions introduce another model, which as of 2005 is still less popular. In this model, following the Bologna process directives, higher education is split into a 3 to 4-year Bachelor programme ending with a title of licencjat (non-technical) or inżynier (technical fields), and a 2-year programme (uzupełniające studia magisterskie) giving the title of magister or magister inżynier. Nevertheless, even in these institutions, it is often possible to bridge the Bachelor education directly into the Master programme, without formally obtaining the licencjat degree, thus shortening the time needed for completing the education slightly.

Depending on field and school, the timing may be slightly different.

Portugal

Prior to the Bologna Process

Prior to the full implementation of the Bologna Process in July 2007 degrees in Portugal could be divided between Bacharelato (three years), Licenciatura (four years), Mestrado (Licenciatura + 2–3 years of postgraduate studies) and doutoramento (Mestrado + 4–6 years of postgraduate studies).

After the Bologna Process

With the full implementation of the Bologna process in July 2007, a Licenciatura (3 years) with the criteria for the first cycle and a Mestrado (four or five years) in line with the criteria for the second cycle. There are other posgraduated titles between some of these cycles.

Sweden

Prior to the Bologna Process

Prior to the full implementation of the Bologna Process in July 2007 degrees in Sweden could be divided between kandidat (three years), magister (four years), licentiat (magister + 2–3 years of postgraduate studies) and doktor (magister + 4–5 years of postgraduate studies).

Engineering

In engineering disciplines M. Sc was called civilingenjör, a four and a half year academic program concluded with a thesis. There was no direct equivalent to a B.Sc, however, a three-year engineering degree with a more practical focus called högskoleingenjör was close.

After the Bologna Process

With the full implementation of the Bologna process in July 2007, a kandidat (3 years) and a master (five years) was introduced in line with the criteria for the second cycle. The magister will still exist alongside the new master, but is expected to be largely neglected in favour of the new, internationally recognized degree. The M. Sc of engineering, civilingenjör, was expanded to five years and a new B. Sc was introduced to coexist with the unaltered högskoleingenjör

United Kingdom

Undergraduate Master's Courses

With Dissertation

In the UK, many universities now have four-year undergraduate programmes (or five-year in Scotland) mainly in the sciences or in engineering with a research project or Dissertation in the final year. The awards for these are named after the subject, so a course in mathematics would earn a Master in Mathematics degree, (abbreviated to MMath), or have a general title such as MSci (Master in Science at most universities but Master of Natural Sciences at Cambridge), MBiomed, MBiochem, MChem, MComp, MPharm, MEng, MESci, MMath, MPhys, MInf, MML, MDes, etc.

In content the first two years they are generally identical to those of the equivalent bachelor's degree while the third and fourth years are a combination of higher-level taught courses and a research project.

An example of an undergraduate master's degree in the professions in the United Kingdom is Pharmacy. In order to become a pharmacist, the undergraduate MPharm must be completed, followed by one year of pre-registration experience. A similar situation exists as regards Engineering.

The ancient universities of Scotland (St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh) and Dundee award a Master of Arts (MA) as an undergraduate degree after four years of study in Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences.

Without Dissertation

There exist undergraduate master's courses for which completion of a dissertation is not required, with attainment being measured either purely by examination, or through a combination of testing and shorter written work. One such course is the four-year Oxford MMath course, in which a dissertation is optional.

The Master of Arts (MA) is awarded by the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College, Dublin —without further examination— to those entitled to the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Postgraduate Master's degrees

Postgraduate master's degrees in the United Kingdom can either be taught degrees involving lectures, examination and a short dissertation, or research degrees (though the latter have largely been replaced by MPhil and MRes programmes). Taught Master's programmes involve 1 or 2 years of full-time study. The programmes are often very intensive and demanding, and concentrate on one very specialised area of knowledge. Some universities also offer a Master's by Learning Contract scheme, where a candidate can specify his or her own learning objectives; these are submitted to supervising academics for approval, and are assessed by means of written reports, practical demonstrations and presentations.

Taught postgraduate Master's degrees

(MSc, MA, LL.M., MLitt, MSSc, MSt, MEnt etc.)

The most common types of postgraduate taught master's degrees are the Master of Arts (MA) awarded in Arts, Humanities, Theology and Social Sciences and the Master of Science (MSc) awarded in pure and applied Science. A number of taught programs in Social Sciences also receive the Master of Science (MSc) degree (e.g. MSc Development Studies at the London School of Economics and University of Bath).

However, some universities - particularly those in Scotland - award the Master of Letters (MLitt) to students in the Arts, Humanities, Divinity and Social Sciences, often with the suffix (T) to indicate it is a taught degree, to avoid confusion with the MLitt. In the universities of Cambridge and Oxford on the other hand, the MPhil is a taught master's degree (normally also including a short research component), whereas the MLitt and the MSc degrees are offered as pure research degrees only. Some other universities, such as the University of Glasgow, previously used the designation MPhil for both taught and research master's degrees, but have recently changed the taught appellation to MLitt.

In Business Schools a special Masters of Business Administration MBA type of a degree is available to those who have business practice experience. For example, Salford Business School in Greater Manchester offers a degree which is only available to those who can show professional experience.

In Law the standard taught degree is the Master of Laws, but certain courses may lead to the award of MA or MLitt.

Until recently, both the undergraduate and postgraduate master's degrees were awarded without grade or class (like the class of an honours degree). Nowadays however, Master's degrees may be classified into a maximum of four categories (Distinction, Merit, Pass or Fail), while others can have a more simplified form of assessment by only distinguishing between a Pass or a Fail.

Research postgraduate Master's degrees

The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) is a research degree awarded for the completion of a thesis. It is a shorter version of the Ph.D. and some universities routinely enter potential PhD students into the MPhil programme and allow them to upgrade to the full PhD programme a year or two into the course. Advanced candidates for a taught postgraduate Master's sometimes undertake the MPhil as it is considered a more prestigious degree, but it may also mean that the student could not afford or could not complete the full PhD.

The Master of Research (MRes) degree is a more structured and organised version of the MPhil, usually designed to prepare a student for a career in research. For example, an MRes may combine individual research with periods of work placement in research establishments.

The Master of Letters (MLitt) degree is a two-year research degree at many universities, including Cambridge and the ancient Scottish universities, and is generally awarded when a student cannot or will not complete the final year(s) of their PhD and so writes their research up for the MLitt. Because MLitt is also used for a taught degree, the suffix (T) or (R) for taught or research is often added, so the more prestigious two-year research degree is called MLitt (R).

Like the PhD, the MPhil and MRes degrees are generally awarded without class or grade as a pass (the standard grade) or can, rarely, be awarded with a distinction.

MAs in Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin

The universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin award master's degrees to BAs without further examination, where seven years after matriculation have passed, and (in some but not all cases) upon payment of a nominal fee. It is commonplace for recipients of the degree to have graduated several years previously and to have had little official contact with the university or academic life since then. The only real significance of these degrees is that they historically conferred voting rights in University elections, it was seen as the point at which one became eligible to teach at the University and certain other privileges e.g. the right to dine at the holder's college's high table. They still do confer some restricted and rarely used voting rights. The MAs awarded by Oxford and Cambridge are colloquially known as the Oxbridge MA, and that from Dublin as the Trinity MA, and would be usually distinguished respectively: MA (Oxon.), MA (Cantab.) and MA (Dubl.). "Oxon." here is short for Oxoniensis, "Cantab." for Cantabrigiensis, "Dubl." for Dubliniensis, meaning "of Oxford", "of Cambridge", and "of Dublin" respectively. The Universities of Cambridge and Dublin also offer an MA to certain senior staff - both academic and non-academic - after a number of years' employment with the university.

Until the advent of the modern research university in the mid 19th century, several other British and American universities also gave such degrees "in course".

Scottish MA

Main article: Master of Arts (Scotland)

In Scotland the first degree in Arts, Fine Art, Humanities and Social Sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland is the Master of Arts. It should be noted the Science and Law faculties of Scottish universities award the BSc and LLB degrees respectively and the New Universities generally award the BA. The Scottish MA is roughly equivalent to an advanced BA from a University elsewhere in the United Kingdom, as it is an undergraduate degree. However, Scottish university courses are four years in length rather than the usual UK degrees, which last for only three years (but this is also true of Scottish BSc and LLB degrees), However, 3 year undergraduate degrees are available but do not include honours. Honours are conferred upon completion of the extra 4th year unlike the rest of the UK which confer honours based upon exam results. It is considered the norm in Scotland to undertake a 4-year course with honours and so when speaking to a Scot they will often refer to the 4-year course simply as a degree. Trinity College Dublin courses are also four years in length.

Other approaches

As indicated above, even though higher education systems in Europe try to comply with the Bologna process, the process is not yet fully accomplished. Differences in methodology and curricula are still widely different in some cases. To mitigate this, several initiatives and approaches are currently tried, some of them with the support of the European Union institutions. Either in partnership or as private consortia, networks of universities in different countries are trying to work out shared curricula and adopt similar methodologies. In niche educational areas like translation and interpreting this has proved successful and the networks have become functional, i.e. European Master's in Translation and the European Master's in Conference Interpreting. While these are not mainstream developments, it may be noted that in these networks of universities a similar master's degree certificate is offered for a given field, and the network/consortium collectively guarantees that these degrees have a high level of convergence.